


Bleeding Stars

by Bekbek



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood and Gore, F/F, F/M, M/M, Protective Coran (Voltron), Warrior princess Allura, galra are dicks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2020-08-18 21:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 29,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20198797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bekbek/pseuds/Bekbek
Summary: Somehow it's always the best laid plans that fail. Lance thought their plans would go smoothly if not easily. It was supposed to be simple even! they were supposed to find and release the last of the Alteans, defeat the Galra, and live happily ever after. Easy right? Instead everything got turned on its head, Lance no longer knows who to trust or where to turn.





	1. Chapter 1

Lance could have kissed the ground his friends walked upon as they came out of the gas station. Hunk proudly carried a collection of snacks, Pidge struggled to juggle two large coffees and a new aux cord and open the door with her hip all at the same time. 

“You two are the best!” Lance crowed while doing a tiny dance with the gas pump as a prop. 

Hunk tossed a large bag of gummy worms at Lance’s head with a small smile. He caught the flying candy with one hand and stuffed it into his hoodie pocket before double checking that the jackets collar was situated properly. The May heat was oppressive even without a fully zipped jacket, but the silver glint it covered was more important than immenet heat stroke. Hunk patted the top of Lance’s van and slid into the backseat with a smile sent his way. Pidge had already crawled into the air conditioned back seat and was fiddling with her phone. Finishing up with the gas, Lance flung himself into the driver's seat and looked into the rear view mirror. 

The trio had been waiting for summer to go on a road trip. Or at least that's what they had told everyone around them. In reality they were going on a hunt for the final resting place of the Alteans. In the ten thousand years since the fall of their empire, countless people and species had joined in the search. None more so than the vicious vampire species of Galra. What none of the others had was the combined genius of three teenagers who didn't like rules and loved cryptids, along with Lance’s own trump card. 

There was a reason he had silver locked around his throat. Beyond being known for frequent attacks on humans, the Galra had made it their life mission to root out anyone with Altean blood and use them as a portable blood bank. While Lance had nothing against the occasional blood deal, they were always under his control and he benefited too. The thought of someone controlling him, using him, _ erasing _ him, made Lance swallow against the choker stinging his skin. Supposedly the Alteans had ways to hide themselves from the other species, something Lance could sorely use. All they had to do was actually find them. 

In the backseat Hunk and Pidge had shit eating grins. Lance narrowed his eyes and Pidge gave a tiny snicker. 

“There's one more tiny thing we need to grab before we can set off.” Hunk sniggered. 

His two friends were trying to look calm and innocent but Lance didn’t trust that as far as he could throw Hunk. He knew they had something planned, but they knew exactly how important this was and would never risk it. So he wasn't sure what they were scheming but Lance still pulled to the front of the store as directed. The two in the back were dying of laughter, Lance was turning to glare at them when someone knocked on his window. He jumped high enough to smack his head off the top of the car, much to the delight of his evil friends.

Lance twisted to glare at the person and nearly choked on his own tongue. He knew the man's obscenely large shoulders, the scar bisecting his face, the shock of white hair. Lance knew the slight figure behind him, knew that while smaller, he could easily have a blade at Lance’s throat. Lance had spent most of his teenage years obsessing over the two, he even had posters. Lance was gaping at two of his personal heroes.

Takashi Shirogane, and Keith Kogane. Literally the Galra hunting dream team. They were nearly superheroes, stories of their exploits circulating every few years. Lance knew for a fact that they had also been searching for the Alteans. What he didn't know was what they were doing outside his car window. Or why Hunk and Pidge had been prepared for that. 

“Uh are you Lance?” Shiro asked through the glass.

Lance was fairly sure he had died and gone to heaven with unfairly attractive angels as he opened the door. Unfolding himself only brought Lance’s eye level to Shiro's nose, at least he was actually taller than Keith. 

_ Ok Lance control your inner fangirl you're not 13 anymore, don't ask them to sign your forehead.  _

“Y-yeah I’m Lance.” his voice was definitely pitched too high. 

Lance mentally kicked himself in the ass. He could still hear his supposed friends cackling. 

“Your friend seems to think that you guys actually have a chance of finding Alteans.” Keith muttered from behind Shiro. 

The scorn coating his voice was as obvious as the May sun. It had Lance’s spine locking and a cool glare pulling over his face. So his hero was an asshole, great. 

“Yes. we know pretty much how to get to the temple and how to get in.” Lance tried to not look at the obvious skeptical Keith. 

“Temple?” Shiro asked, drawing Lances attention off Keith. 

“If you want to come with us get in the car.” Lance ordered. 

The hunters raised their eyebrows at Lances mood shift but he just turned to get back in the car. The air conditioner blasting was a cool relief to the sweat sliding down his spine. The sooner they got a move on the sooner he could take the jacket off. Once he found the Alteans then he could finally take off the blasted silver choker for good. The skin around the metal was chafing and sensitive, he wasn't sure if the headache pounding behind one eye was caused by silver exposure or stress. Lance turned back to the two that could very well be the cause of his headache, Pidge and Hunk didn’t even try to look innocent. 

“I can't believe you two were able to pull this off without telling me!” 

“Well,” Pidge casually shrugged, “Hunk nearly broke more than once.” 

The van rocked as the hunters clambered in, Shiro turning to look at Pidge. 

“You didn't tell your friend you'd been harassing us for nearly two months?” 

Pidge cackled gleefully but Hunk interrupted her, “we didn't know if you would actually take us seriously.” 

A very stiff and awkward Keith scoffed and rolled his eyes. Lance sucked his teeth and threw his car into drive. Fuck Keith, they would find the Alteans just to prove him wrong.

“We weren't going to, y’all pretty much just annoyed us into listening.” Keith grumbled before sliding lower into his seat. 

“Plus if you guys hadn't shown up Lance would have been crushed. You two are his heroes after all.” Pidge smiled innocently into the rearview mirror. 

Lance was 98% sure that he was going to burst into flames, he could feel a flush spreading. Shiro was looking away and Keith looked like someone had handed him a platinum card with no rules. Lance took a deep breath, this was going to be a long drive. 

“If I didn't know any better I'd say you were a Gremlin not a Sprite.” Lance grumbled. Even Hunk was holding in a snicker. 

“You're Fey?” Keith asked. 

Lance could see Shiro sniff vaguely and imagined Keith was doing the same. It was easy to forget that the hunters were actually vampires themselves, though not evil like the Galra. Too bad for them the choker blocked his scent from them too. He supposed if they were going to be sticking around they would find out eventually. Better to take care of it early, let the blood mix in the water. Faking more confidence than he could ever have Lance unzipped his jacket. He could hear Keith and Shiro suck in gasps. 

“You see, the reason we are so confident is that I am Altean.”

There was a heavy silence in the car, Lance didn't look away from the road to check the vampires reactions. He wanted to reach up and scratch the skin around the choker but the stares trained on him prevented any movement. The longer the silence stretched the more antsy Lance got, it felt like a year since the revelation but it had only been a few seconds. A sudden hiss made him flinch and jerk the wheel. Hunk and Pidge squawked at the sudden movement but besides that stayed out of the coming storm. 

“What the hell do you mean by that.” Keith hissed from behind Lance's ear. 

A quick glance in the mirror showed the furious vampire hovering behind Lance's shoulder glaring at him. Lance swallowed against the silver and dropped his eyes back to the road

. 

“Lance why are you wearing that… thing?” Shiro leant forward into Lance’s line of sight.

He had to hold in a half frantic giggle, Shiro barely even knew him yet he sounded so concerned. A huge contrast to the murderous Keith glaring a hole into Lances skull. Lance took a deep breath and sorted through his thoughts, he had one go at explaining this properly.

“You didn't think that I was wearing a fully zipped jacket in the middle of May for fun, did you?” He joked. 

The attempt at humor fell flat into the air and Lance heaved a sigh before tapping the offending silver. 

“Look, this is just to keep me looking and smelling human. The fact that neither of you suspected my origin is just showing that its effective. I am not forced to wear this beyond not wanting to be a snack pack for the Galra.”

The tension in the van was thick enough to replace cement. Movement caught his eye, Keith settled back into his seat though he looked no less furious. The relief unlocked the block in Lance’s throat, 

“Well I’m only half Altean, my family carries the gene. Everyone thought it had died out until I hit maturity. The last person to present was found by the Galra within a week of developing, I'm sure you know what happened after that.” Lance knew he was babbling but it took Pidge throwing a jelly bean at his head to shut him up. 

Lance glanced over and saw that Shiro still looked slightly shocked and had dropped fang. He was sure if he glanced back Keith would have the teeth on display also. 

“Heh, I’m guessing Pidge didn’t quite make that little fact known.” Lance joked. 

If Shiro gritted his teeth any tighter he’d snap a fang, “No, no she didn’t.”

Lance could see the blood leave Pidges face and scrambled to cover, “Well It's not exactly common knowledge and I don't tell anyone until I've known them for ages. Pidge was just trying to protect me.” 

Pidge nodded gratefully to him as Keith finally put away his teeth and stopped glaring at her. Poor Hunk looked positively green, activate mom mode Lance. 

“Hey buddy you good? No throwing up in my van.” Lance directed to the back.

Hunk waved him off, “Yea, yea I’m good. Just didn't expect the sudden mood shifts, made me a bit dizzy.” 

Lance levelled a glare at Shiro and Keith who at least looked slightly guilty.

“I can pull over, let you breath.” He offered. 

“No its fine, I know how desperate you are to get to the temple.” Hunk said. 

Lance nodded and focused back on the road. Awkward silence weighed heavily and he resisted the urge to play some music or start chattering.

“You guys keep mentioning a temple, where is that?” Keith asked after about fifteen minutes. 

“Well, after years of searching we finally found mentions of a temple deep in the Montana forest. Someone had already explored and documented it, they found old Altean relics and a bit of poetry asking for Altean blood. They wrote the ruins off, but we think that if someone with Altean blood enters the temple, then we can find more clues.” Pidge was rightfully smug.

The ruins had been written off as nothing impressive just like the trio. It was Lance who had translated the poetry, then Hunk who realized what it meant. Pidge had figured out the likelihood 

of them being right and called Lance at three a.m. screaming in excitement. After that they just had to wait for summer and its lack of responsibilities, it helped they told everyone they were going on a massive road trip before college. Lance was stupidly proud of his friends for figuring everything out. Based on the hunter’s faces, they were impressed too.

“We actually know the place you’re talking about,” Shiro mused, “we went there a few years ago but there was some kind of dryad that kept attacking us and wouldn't let us advance.” 

“If she’s a problem I can get rid of her.” Pidge boasted. 

Lance held in a sigh, a fond smile breaking through, Shiro's confused face made holding in a giggle harder. 

“Trust me, don’t try to face down Pidge. She once scared off a full Galra that came sniffing after Lance before he learned the silver choker trick.” Hunk told them with a small shudder. 

Lance nodded along with his own shudder, though tiny Pidge would be very scary. The two hunters looked at the tiny sweet Pidge. She gave them her best example of an innocent smile, and they unsubtly leaned away. Honestly Lance didn't even blame them, he had pissed her off and faced her wrath a few times. 

“Well folks! It's a four hour drive, get comfortable and try not to kill anyone. Hunk pass the Aux.” Lance said. 

```

A four hour drive with his personal heroes, who didn't seem to actually like him all that much? A destination that might hold the last of his people? The very real likelihood that he could be killed or used as a snack pack before he was 20? A pounding headache caused by silver exposure? Britney Spears could make it better, four hours and many rounds of bad karaoke courtesy of the Trio later they finally pulled off the highway and onto an old back road.

“Ok Hunk, you got the machine?” Lance asked after turning down the music. 

Hunk nodded and pulled a small machine out from under his seat. Flicking it on the machine started giving off quiet clicks. Lance slowed the car to a crawl and rolled the windows all the way down. 

“Our local geniuses figured out a Geiger counter that specifically picks up on Altean signatures.” Lance said to Shiro. 

The large hunter had twisted himself around as much as the seat belt would allow to peer at the little machine. It was honestly cuter than a full grown man had any right to be. Glancing in the mirror, Lance could see Keith leaning over Pidge to get a closer look, much to the smaller girl’s displeasure. Lance knew it was coming but when Hunk stuck the machine to the side of Lances neck he still flinched. The thing let out a high pitched shriek that had everyone leaning away. 

“Just calibrating it!” he shouted over the noise, Lance couldn't help his lip curling up.

After a few moments the machine stopped attacking Lance’s ears and blessed silence filled the car, the only exception being the small clicks and the wind. They pretty much knew where they were going, the benefits of someone else trying the path first. After another ten minutes, they turned down a tiny dirt road, a bit longer and Hunks machine started going crazy again. Lance pulled over as far as he could and everyone started crawling out, Lance most definitely did not appreciate Keith's thighs as he did so. He took a moment to breath through the lump in his throat, this was it. 

“Let’s go McLeggy!” Pidge hollered. 

Before Lance got out of the car, he pulled a specially made knife from the glovebox, razor sharp and made of silver. He shoved the knife into his waistband and exited into the woods. The minute he stood, his vision spotted with black and dizziness made him stumble to the side. Instinctively he reached out and grabbed onto someone's shoulder, stabilizing himself while his head cleared. Hunk and Pidge squawked with concern, and one of the vampires made confused noises. Once Lance could, he opened his eyes and saw that he had caught himself on Keith. Lance jerked away and really hoped he didn't look as flustered as he felt. 

“Sorry!” he squeaked, “as I get older I’ve come to realize that silver exposure is not so fun, it actually makes me pretty sick.”

“I don't understand why you wear it then.” Keith grumbled stepping away. 

Lance rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact.  _ How do you explain to two vampires that you aren't safe with them because your blood is a sirens call?  _ He needed to take the choker off in order to access his true nature, otherwise he was just useless. 

“I already said that it makes me look and smell human. Alteans aren't safe around Galra, and you never know who’s around you.” 

Lance held out his hand and Hunk quickly pulled a small chain from around his own neck. Dangling off of it was a small key crafted from silver, the key to the choker. Lance had Hunk or Pidge carry it so that he would not have the temptation to remove the blasted thing. Hunk dropped the key into his hand, but Lance hesitated, it was now or never. 

“I need to take this choker off, if you two will be a danger to me, then you need to leave.” He had to work to make his voice hard and cold. 

The two vampires actually looked like Lance had sucker punched them. Keith visibly squared up like he was preparing for a fight, and Shiro shrunk away like he was ashamed. Lance ran his tongue across his teeth, he hadn’t meant to sound quite that harsh. 

“Listen, we've all seen the posters with you two covered in blood. We know that you aren't going to take a bite out of Lance for the fun of it, but you have to realize that the choker is literally the only reason he's still alive.” Blessed Hunk stepped into the awkward silence before Lance could open his big mouth and mess things up even more. 

Lance could see his words working through the vampires as they slowly relaxed. Hunk was just so much better at making the ugly truth a bit sweeter. Or better at not word vomiting like Lance, whichever worked. 

“Altean records state that our blood has always called to the Galra, the two races used to be symbiotic. It wasn't until the Galra became corrupted that problems arose, but I'm sure we all know the history. The point is I’m not full Altean, and neither of you are typical Galra. But I’d still recommend bracing yourselves.” Lance sucked a deep breath in before he slid the small key into the hole at the back of the choker.

A quick flick to the left and the choker was splitting along a barely visible seam. As soon as the silver left Lances skin his breath was punched out of his chest in the face of his magic. His very bones rejoiced the magic roaring through the small group in a visible storm of blue sparks. The shift from purely human to partly Altean brought with it pain, pain that Lance relished. The world exploded with life as his senses sky rocketed, he could hear the other’s heartbeats, he could hear a bird's wings flapping, he could even hear faint singing. He opened his eyes and it was like stepping into a high def TV, he could shoot a scale off of a siren’s back at 200 yards… without sights. A laugh tore itself from his throat as he finally stood to his full height. 

Lance looked at the two hunters, they were open mouthed in shock. Both had fully dropped fang and their eyes were glowing yellow. Lance could see extended bat like ears on Keith and it was enough to send him into another fit of giggles. Once he started laughing he couldn't stop, he felt like that time he had snuck into his dad's whiskey. With every exhale more blue sparks fluttered to life around Lance, he could feel them settling over Pidge and Hunk faintly.

“Ignore him, he always gets giddy when he takes that damned thing off.” Pidge grumbled. 

“I see why he wears it now.” Shiro’s voice was definitely strained and it sent a tiny pang through Lance.

Even spending a small amount of time with them, Lance guessed that Shiro had better control. Or at least Shiro had more experience being around blood as the older vampire. 

“And you two are good, imagine how much danger he is in on the daily.” Everyone knew Hunk’s protective streak was bigger than Texas. 

Lance was starting to steady, the first rush of power cooling in his belly. He stuffed a knuckle into his mouth and bit lightly, being sure to not break skin with his newly sharpened teeth. The pain helped him focus, his body temperature dropping as his magic worked through his veins. One random side effect of his magic, he was cold enough that his breath slightly fogged. Lance looked back to the vampires, Shiro had torn his eyes away but Keith was still staring him down. He took three deep breaths and on the fourth inhale spooled his magic to storm through his body not the clearing. He figured it was polite to ignore the vampire’s twin sighs of relief. 

“Now is it a bit more clear why we need to get to the temple? Not only to free the last two of my species, but the Alteans supposedly had ways of dampening their effects on other Galra. I’d only been wearing the choker for a few days and the blow back was that bad, and it's only getting worse.”

“You live like that everyday?” Keith croaked, for the first time sounding genuine

. 

Lance just nodded. Shiro’s eyes had lost all yellow and he looked back to normal, even if Keith was still dropping a little fang. 

“Ok! Now that that bit of drama is done with let's grab our shit and be off!” Pidge clapped her hands to grab everyone's attention. 

Lance heard Shiro grumble about language and debated telling him it was useless, but was distracted by a backpack being chucked at him. All of the trio had one, Lance’s with med supplies, Hunk’s with food stuff, and Pidge camping gear. Apparently the vampires didn't need luggage, or they just expected it to be a short trip. though they might be interested in the bottle of Lance’s blood that each bag held. If things went pear shaped, then the blood could be used as a bargaining chip, or a distraction, though Lance really hoped they wouldn’t need it.

```

A quick double check of their supplies by the trio and a last locking of the van and they were ready to go. Lance felt slightly guilty of the two vampires that stayed as far from him as they could. Pidge and Hunk hadn't even told them that Lance was an Altean to begin with, then he had to go and basically dangle raw steak in front of starving wolves. He couldn't very well apologize for his DNA, but that didn't mean he couldn't feel bad. Keith refused to even look at him though the smaller vampire was sticking close to Pidge and listening to her conspiracy theory rants. It was cute, and Lance was paying too much attention to them, so when a foreign presence started approaching he didn't notice until it was on top of them. 

The crack of a breaking stick had the groups heads whipping around. Lance’s magic swelled in his bones but he held it back, assess first. His caution didn’t stop the low rumbling growl from escaping his chest, or cover the vampire’s hisses. Standing slightly behind a tree was a glowering Dryad. Personally, Lance spared a moment to appreciate her beauty, even if she was trying to shoot lasers out of her eyes. 

“You.” Keith spat. 

So the pretty Dryad was the guardian of the temple, and had already experienced the hunters. Lance slowly walked over and put himself in between the opposing forces. The Dryad’s solid green eyes widened as she heard the song of his magic, sensing the truth in his spirit. He could sense the ire coming in waves from the vampires behind him, poor empathetic Hunk probably didn't appreciate it. 

“Brother,” the Dryad crooned though she continued looking over his shoulder. 

The ancient Altean she spoke in felt like honey sliding in Lances ears, thick and sweet with promise. He wondered if the Dryad knew no one else could speak it, or if it were her only language. 

“Sister,” Lance always thought Altean had a flavor, smooth and low over his tongue.

“Why have you brought these beasts into my forest?” 

He shrugged and rubbed at the back of his neck, “They are my protection, Alteans don't last long without help these days.” 

“No, no you don’t.”

She cocked her head and slid forward on silent feet. Lance took the moment to access her, she was old, he got that much from the sheer power emanating from her. More than that, she ruled the whole forest, most new dryads had a single tree, maybe a grove. He could also see sadness in the set of her eyebrows, in the careful hope she hid behind a hard mask. His face eased into a small genuine smile, she had hope.

“We’re here now, here to free the Alteans in the temple and here for you.” 

The Dryad hummed low in her throat as she cast her eyes around the group. Lance took a break to do the same, Pidge and Hunk just stood there awkwardly while the vampires still levelled hard glares at her. At least they no longer seemed like they were going to try and attack, that would not have been a pretty mess. 

“Yes,” the Dryad purred a small smile forming on her face. “Finally someone to free me from my eternal watch. But more importantly someone to finally free the Princess.” 

All Lance could do was blink as the sentence processed in his head, then proceeded to choke on his own air. He coughed loudly, his lungs seizing around nothing and could hear the others shifting uneasily. The Dryad was definitely smirking as he focused on not letting his eyes drop from their sockets. 

“Princess?! As in the Princess Allura, King Alfor’s only daughter and arguably one of the most important Alteans that ever lived?! That Princess!” Lance squeaked loudly. 

The Dryad held her composure for all of three seconds before she was doubled over laughing. Lance waved his hands around frantically trying to get some kind of urgency back. The Dryad peeked up at him and dissolved back into laughter. 

“Did you honestly not know who you were going after?” she snickered.

Lance frantically shook his head and the Dryad got serious.

“Yes, the two Alteans are Princess Allura, and the Royal Advisor Coran Wembleton. If you proceed, you will free them and myself, for better or worse, to face the storm that's coming.” 

Lance looked closer at the Dryad, he’d noticed her sadness and her hope but not her weakness. She carried herself like her bones were threatening to snap under her own weight. Her skin was only faintly green not the full light green it should be, even her long white hair hung limp. 

“Sister, why are you weak?” Lance could hear the gentleness in his own voice, but not a shred of pity. Never pity for one of the oldest and wisest Dryads he would ever meet. 

The Dryad’s face fell, but she squared her shoulders anyway.

“I am tired, I should have faded into my trees long ago. I stand watch over the temple, Alfor himself begged me to. I was old then and older now. I was, am, glad to do my duty, but brother I am tired.” 

Lance felt his heart break even as his magic sent tentative tendrils in her direction. He wanted to give her a hug, wanted to fix her, wanted to make her smile again. Really, his decision was an easy one, he had what was needed to at least help for a short while. Lance shrugged off his backpack and started digging through it drawing the Dryads eyes. 

“Well I’d say you need a Big Gulp full of 5 hour energy, but I have the next best thing.” Lance coaxed. 

He pulled the red filled bottle out of his bag and watched her eyebrows vanish into her hairline. The two vampires gave tiny hisses followed closely by Hunks own ‘oh shit’ and Pidge groaning.

“Altean blood, the perfect pick me up.” 

The Dryad gave a tiny whine as Lance casually tossed the bottle to her. She scrambled with the cap but he stopped her with a quick jolt of magic.

“Now now,” he tsked, “I’d ask that you not open that in front of our guests unless you are planning to share.” Lance gestured to the vampires behind him who he was sure had dropped fang. The dryad hissed and curled over the small bottle protectively. 

“Now that we have that squared away, we need to pass.” 

The dryad stood straighter, though she held the bottle close and the hard mask slid back over her face. 

“I’d happily let you pass, and take your two bonded, but I can't allow the Galra.” she said coldly. 

Lance raised an eyebrow and allowed his own hard mask to come back. 

“Why?” 

“You asking me to let such beasts into my forest and into the sacred temple shows your age  _ brother _ .” he could practically see the derision coming from her. 

Lances eyes narrowed at her sudden shift, even as his spine locked. “I'm not exactly asking. They are with me and I need to go to the temple. If you want to be freed you will let us pass, unharassed.”

The Dryad held in her flinch and Lance had to focus on not backing down. They both knew she wasn't powerful enough to stop them but he didn't want it to come to that.

“I'm sorry brother but I can't, I’m not strong enough to let them through the borders.” 

Lance rubbed the back of his neck as he ran it through his head.

“I'll get them through the borders, all you need to do is guide us. Once we get there I will even give you a magic transfer to counteract and of the borders magic drain.” 

The Dryad considered for a moment before she nodded sharply once. Lance nodded back and turned to his group with a smile. 

“Lookie here! Our dear friend here is going to lead us to the temple and even allow our friends to pass.” Lance said brightly. 

The others looked vaguely surprised and Lance pouted at them. He was perfectly good at negotiating when he wanted to be, especially when he was the only one that could. Hunk was the only justified one in being skeptical since he could feel Lance’s emotions.  _ Damn empaths.  _

“What did it cost you?” the careful question came from Shiro. 

Lance flicked his eyebrows up, someone had been paying close attention. Impressive. 

“Nothing I’m not willing to pay or haven't done before.” he answered smoothly and cut his eyes away before the vampire saw more.

“Laaaance,” the older vampire groaned but Lance refused. 

Rather he clapped his hands twice and gestured for the Dryad to lead them without looking behind him. They could finally  _ finally  _ go. 


	2. When Meetings Dont Go As Planned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back? Back again? Beks is back. Tell your dog!
> 
> hello hello! another chapter incoming with all my rambling wordage. Just saying..... I've got a discord server where i tend to blab or share snippets of what i happen to be working on! just let me know if you would like a link!

The first few steps into the forest were silent. Lance could feel that he was in the Dryad’s territory, the air carried traces of her magic. It made his magic tingle and more tiny sparks drift away from him to settle on the others. He nearly lost his composure when one spark drifted to sit on Keith’s nose making the vampire sneeze.  _ Oh my gods Keith has a tiny kitten sneeze I’m going to launch myself into the stars.  _

It wasn't until they had walked at least half a mile that Shiro pressed the deal issue. 

“Really Lance, I would feel much better if you would tell us what it cost you to allow me and Keith to come with you.” 

Lance gritted his teeth and ignored the blue sparks that swirled slightly faster in his annoyance. If he told them they would be guilty, or try and scold him. It wasn't as if he was opening a vein for him, magic transfers were only unpleasant not dangerous. 

“I already said it was fine.” he gritted out. 

He walked in the front of the group, only the Dryad guiding him, but he could practically sense the glares trained on his back. 

“If it’s going to cause you trouble then we will turn back.” Shiro pushed. 

Lance took a deep breath through his nose, it would do no good if he snapped at them. They didnt know him, or really trust him, of course they wouldn't just take his word for it. 

“What can I say,” he made his voice light and joking, “she thought I was a snack and wanted another taste.” 

Finally he gave it up, maybe accepting that Lance wasn't going to share just yet. Lance could feel Hunk reaching out and soothing his magic with a gentle caress of the empath’s own magic. He kept his eyes on the swinging white hair of the Dryad. If the stories were true, the Princess Allura also had white hair. Old poetry quoted her beauty often, and in the very next line her ferocity. Supposedly the last thing Alfor had done was lock her into stasis, against her will. She wanted to fight, to protect her people even at the cost of her own life. 

As far as Lance could figure, his family came from some Altean Druid that escaped those first days of slaughter, at least long enough to make a kid. Though whoever it was had disappeared or died soon after, all he had was a name. Emelle, he didn't even know if they were male or female, just that they had existed then vanished. He was determined to not follow in their footsteps. If that meant he had to follow a surly Dryad five miles into the forest with grumbly vampires at his back then so be it. Even if the Princess wanted nothing to do with a Half Breed 10,000 years her younger he’d deal. 

The power in Lance swirled uneasily at that. Alteans were very social and had a system of pack bonds, like the precursors to modern werewolves. Every Altean was born to serve the royal family, it was in his blood even as a mixed breed thousands of years later. He knew that even if Allura spit in his face he would still do whatever he could to help her. Even ignore the singing that was trying to break into his musing….  _ Wait what, singing?  _

He jerked to a stop and closed his eyes as he tried to catch the noise better. Someone bounced off his back and he steadied them without opening his eyes. It sounded like someone was singing a lullaby, like the lullaby his mom sang in the far reaches of his memory. He leaned forward slightly and stumbled, the song felt like a string tied around his heart. He had to go to it, to go to her. 

“Do you hear it?” the Dryad murmured.

Lance nodded his mouth suddenly dry as the desert. 

“Hear what?” Hunk was asking. 

“Its Allura.” Lance breathed. 

“Yes,” the Dryad answered in english, “the Princess calls for someone with Altean blood to come free her.” 

Standing still was making Lance’s muscles twitch, even his magic was reaching for her. A faint trail of blue sparks forming like a trail of Will o’ Wisps. 

“Wait you speak english?” Keith asked.

The dryad just hummed and locked eyes with Lance. 

“How come we cant hear it?” Pidge asked with clear curiosity. 

“We’re not Altean.” Shiro guessed and the Dryad nodded. 

Lance could feel his cheeks warming, not a blush but the markings on his cheeks coming to the surface. It was rare they ever did so, he could see their blue glow faintly. The Dryad’s mouth fell open slightly, she looked like he had just grown a second head. Suddenly a sharp chirrup made its way out of her throat and Lance automatically answered with a low purr. The two blinked at each other with gaping mouths as the Dryad’s cheeks darkened to a deeper green. She squeaked out a goodbye before turning tail and running through the trees. Lance could feel his ears burning as his two friends howled with laughter. 

“Uhhhhhh, huh?” was Keith's helpful inclusion as Lance covered his face with his hands. 

“I changed my mind, forget freeing the Alteans. I'm just going to jump off a cliff” he groaned through his fingers. 

That only set the two traitors into another round of even louder cackles. Maybe Lance would throw them off the cliff first. 

“Would anyone care to explain?” Keith grumbled. 

Lance shook his head but of course Pidge chose that moment to pull herself together and explain. 

“They just claimed each other!” 

Lance turned and peaked at the others through his fingers. It had been Shiro that ran into him he guessed based off how close he was. Shiro looked down at Lance a tiny smirk on his stupidly nice face. 

“Aw man Lance hasn't done that since we all got trashed that last time!” Hunk added. 

Even Keith was starting to chuckle. Lance was most certainly going to die from embarrassment. 

“I did  _ not  _ claim the Dryad!” he semi shouted. 

Shiro raised an eyebrow and Lance rushed to explain before the evil ones did. 

“She pretty much just said that I’m stronger than her. Most likely she didn't mean to and it was instinct, but no claiming.” 

“What's the difference?” Keith asked sliding closer to lean against Shiro’s arm. 

Yup, Lance was going to officially die of embarrassment. How do you explain the complicated issue of a proper claiming to two vampires. He barely told his two personal demons when he claimed them and it had been under different circumstances.  _ What would it be like if you claimed angry Keith…. Nope, no, bad brain.  _ Lance shook that thought out of his head and turned on his heel to stalk along his magic’s glinting path. At least his magic had just formed a path instead of swirling around as he mentally died. 

“Saying that someone is stronger than you is different that asking them to be part of your family,” he said carefully, “I’ve never heard of someone doing it to an Altean that wasn't royalty but she also has not seen any Altean in over 10,000 years it was just an accident.” 

He glanced back at his still beaming bondmates. If he had the control then he would use the bond to send them a sharp jolt in the ass. As it was the bond only really alerted him of heightened emotions unless he was deep in his magic. 

“The night that Pidge scared off a Galra for me we did what any scared teenagers would do, and got absolutely trashed. To make a long and messy story short we ended the night with me claiming the two demons.” 

“I’m still not clear on what you mean by ‘claimed them’” Shiro said. 

“It’s something like… a bloodpact? If you sniff at them closely you can catch bits of my scent actually tied into theirs, not just on them from being close together. It's a pretty big warning for any nasties to back off if they wanted to keep their bits intact,” he paused to glare back at them, “they both knew I didn’t claim the Dryad, they are just hellspawn intent on humiliating me.” 

Neither of them even tried to look guilty. Keith scoffed and Lance turned to walk backwards and raised his eyebrows at the vampire. 

“What could you do to anything that would actually cause some problems.” 

Lance smiled slightly and pulled two of his magic sparks and sent them to give tiny stinging shocks to the vampires chin. Keith jerked back with a hiss and nearly stepped on Pidge who just elbowed him out of her way. Lance chuckled slightly and turned back to the front and kept walking.

“I guess I just don't understand the problem then, we have something similar in the Sire Bond.” 

Lance hummed and picked up a little speed as Shiro explained it. They were similar but not enough to hold his attention as the spell of the Princess sank more claws into his magic. He was fighting the urge to start running as it pulled in his focus. The Princess’ call was a siren song, pulling him with no choice in the matter. He knew the others noticed, could feel it in Hunk’s magic reaching for his and Pidge trying to bring him into the conversation. He could no more stop his forward motion than a train could stop on a dime. The sudden hand dropping on his shoulder scattered his magic enough for him to slow a bit. 

He turned slightly and saw that Shiro had grabbed his shoulder. The vampire pressed his weight down and drug Lance to a stop. Lance was panting and it made his skin twitch to stand still and he leaned against Shiro’s grip. Dimly, Lance noticed that the glow from his markings had strengthened and glinted against Shiro’s black T-Shirt. 

“Lance you need to slow down,” he said gently “The others can't keep up as easily and you should have them with you.” 

Lance drug his eyes off his own magic and looked at the other three, they were struggling. Sweat shone on their brows and Hunk was panting as they caught up. Lance was freezing, he could feel the warmth of Shiro’s hand like a brand. Apparently the vampire noticed too. 

“Lance you're cold as ice!” 

With his other hand Shiro pressed on Lance’s forehead then snatched his hand away. 

“M-m-magic.” Lance stuttered as he focused on keeping his feet still. 

“It's always been a side effect of too much magic.” Pidge gasped as the whole group came to a stop. 

The bond they had crackled through Lance as he felt their need to stop, to breath. His blue sparks settled over their shoulders in a show of support but staying still was starting to cause actual pain. He whined low in his throat and jerked against Shiro’s grip again but the vampire held firm. 

“We need to take a short break and let everyone slow down for a minute.” Shiro ordered. 

Lance whined again and shook his head frantically. Every second they stood still the more his own magic shredded through him. What had been a low level of pain was rapidly rising with every second that Lance wasn't moving forward.  _ We can't stop, we have to go. Can they feel it? Can't they hear her? Why don't my bond mates sense it. It hurts let me go I have to go stop it hurts pleaseshiroletmegocantyouseethatwhatyouredoingishurtingmeIhavetogo.  _ His brain whirred uselessly as he whined again. The others started to look concerned but still didn’t move even as he leaned towards the call. 

“Hurts” he groaned in Altean, at their blank words he repeated himself in english “it hurts” 

Shiro jerked his hand away eyes going huge like Lance had hit him. He turned and took another few steps hearing the startled yelp from someone. Even the few feet he covered before Shiro grabbed him again lessened the fog of pain clouding his brain. 

“Lance what hurts?” Shiro asked. 

Lance watched his lips move but it took a few moments for the question to process enough to answer, “not moving, not going, it hurts. She wants to be set free I have to go let go of me Shiro I can't stop.” 

He didn't really know how much of that was in english and what was in Altean but apparently they got the message. He could see the color drain out of their faces as his body swayed to the Princess’ call. Pidge stomped forward her golden brows furrowing her face into one of pure rage. 

“I don't know exactly what's going on here but if anything is causing you pain it's not worth it!” she snapped as she grabbed his hand. 

Instantly the crushing weight of his magic pulled back far enough for Lance to suck in a grateful breath. The call receded from screaming in his ears to a more comfortable level and let him focus on his small bond mate. Any rage had vanished from her face and her mouth fell slightly open. The whites of her eyes glowed blue and Lance realized what had happened, she was sharing the call. Through the bond they had, she could hear the call and that's why the skin contact had steadied him. He yanked his hand out of hers and she stumbled back with a yelp but Keith caught her before she hit the ground. Lance expected his magic to immediately begin tugging him again but it stayed at a low level even as he felt it drain out of Pidge. 

“Pidge are you alright?” he gasped lunging to her, he only kind of noticed that he moved away from the call. 

He stopped just short of grabbing her hand again not wanting to do whatever had just happened. Hunk rushed up and helped Pidge to her feet wrapping his arms around her shoulders when she swayed. 

“Ugh. My mouth taste like I licked the underside of a bus seat.” She grumbled. 

Pidge slid her glasses off and rubbed at her eyes before she shook Hunks arm off her shoulders. She seemed much steadier after she had been able to breath for a little bit. Lance ran his eyes over her form and gently urgered any of his sparks to leave her. She opened her eyes and he took a tiny step backwards at the green filling her pupils, if she was pissed he was a goner. 

“Lance what the actual flying fuck was that.” she said with way too much sugary sweetness for Lance’s safety. 

He bounced on his toes and looked anywhere but at the small girl as he tried to figure it out. Standing still was starting to feel weird again, but he needed to tell them and let the others catch a quick breather before he could start the pelmel journey again. 

“Well uh ya see…” Lance hummed and pulled more of his magic back into himself, “since we’re bonded my best guess is that you kind of took some of the compulsion of the call and gave me a bit of a reprieve?” 

Pidge just blinked at him, probably running the likelihood through her mind. The silence was either a good sign or a very very bad one. If nothing else Pidge hadn’t tried to gut him or or even smack him yet. 

“So that pain, and the screaming, was from the Princess?” Pidge said carefully.

Lance nodded before his brain caught up, “wait no, screaming? I have no idea what you mean by screaming all I could hear was the princess singing.” 

Pidge raised an eyebrow and pulled a small notebook from the side pocket of her backpack. It was instinct for Lance to groan and crumple to sit on the ground, or at least try to. Shiro still had ahold of the back of Lance’s shirt so he was jerked to a stop. He craned his neck around to raise an eyebrow at the man until his shirt was released, Shiro backed away with a faint blush under his scar. 

“So to you the call sounds like singing, what kind?” Pidge asked already scribbling in her notebook. 

“It sounds like a lullaby my mama would sing to me.” he sighed. 

Pidge paused to look at him with a bit of pity, he waved it off and got more comfortable on the ground. Lance gestured for the others to sit as well, which they did with happy sighs. 

“So when I did whatever I did all I could hear was screaming, and faint begging but I’m fairly sure that was you trying to get us to let you go.” Pidge speculated. 

Lance rolled his eyes as she hunched over her notebook. Once Pidge lost herself into her research then it was hell to try and pull her out. Their break would be a longer one if she had anything to do with it. Lance took the moment to check over his own state, the pain had receded to something like sore muscles. It was dealable but he knew it would come back until they reached the Princess. 

“The call the Princess is putting out is some kind of compulsion spell, probably only keyed into Alteans which is why it's not affecting anyone else. It's very powerful, easily the most powerful compulsion spell I’ve ever ran into.” Lance could see Pidge taking note of his every word. 

“What’s the cost of ignoring the call?” Keith asked from the tree he was leaning on.

Lance swallowed as he felt all their eyes settle on him. He was really hoping that question wouldn't come up, how did keith even know about that. Most spells didn't even effect vampires. It was a downfall to the mostly magically based Alteans. 

“Uh its pain. It hurts, like staying still or even thinking about turning around is painful.” he kept his eyes on his hands as silence ruled the small group. 

“So this  _ Princess  _ is hurting you.” Lance risked a glance up to the glowering Hunk before he ducked his head again. 

Hunk was easily one of the kindest people Lance knew, and the easiest going in the group. There had been multiple occasions when the big man had calmed down the other two before they charged off, or caught them by the collars when they went anyway. It was easy to forget that he was massively strong and more than willing to throw down with someone who hurt his friends. 

“It’s not like she's doing it on purpose!” Lance scrambled to cover before Hunk decided she deserved his wrath, “it's been 10,000 years since she was locked away, she wants to be free.” 

Lance looked to Pidge for help but the girls pupils had gone green again as she thought. They wouldn't care for excuses, not if it was at Lance’s expense. A quick glance at Shiro and Keith showed that they looked horrified, and they didn't even  _ know _ Lance. So Lance fell back on old tactics, ones that he knew would work even if the others didn’t like them. 

“Besides, she's probably expecting a full Altean. I'm most likely weaker than any one the Princess wants which is why the call affects me negatively.” 

Pidge narrowed her eyes, and Lance could see Hunk gritting his teeth. They hated when he talked about his own weakness, but at the same time they couldn’t exactly rebuke it. Alteans used to be able to make whole civilizations bow before them, Lance didn't quite have that power. He very rarely used his true power anyway. 

“Well how is it affecting you now?” Lance slowly turned to glare at Shiro with a definite WTF look on his face. 

“It’s not pleasant but not to the levels where I absolutely have to go yet.” he said carefully. 

It didn't seem to appease the others but it was as good as Lance had. The pain was starting to build again, making him fidgety. A sudden shiver seemed to pass through the whole forest and Lance felt his face break into a grin. The Dryad had taken his gift of blood and would be stronger for it. He could sense her approaching but made no comment on it, it would be up to her if she wanted to show up or just shadow them. He pushed himself to his feet and stretched letting his back pop, it made a tiny sigh escape his through as he straightened back out and pulled his shirt down. He ignored the looks the others were giving him as he gave into the urge to pace. 

“You're wrong you know.” the smooth voice of the Dryad came from the tree Keith leaned against. 

The poor vampire leaped to his feet hissing but she wasn't anywhere behind him. Rather she dropped straight out of the tree above his head, and probably gave him a heart attack as he spun back around to glare at her. There was silence until Pidge broke first with a snort then they all broke. Their laughter rang loudly as Keith fumed and shot dirty looks at them with his arms crossed. Once the laughter cleared the Dryad cocked her head and followed Lance’s paced path with her eyes. 

“You're wrong,” she repeated, “the call doesn't affect you because you are weak but because you are strong.” 

Lance motioned for her to continue but didn't pause his motion. He could hear Pidge writing again but it was starting to get hard to think again. He started to angle his pacing so that each pass moved him forwards a little, which took down some of the burn. 

“Allura needs someone that's strong enough to open the locks and free her, if you survive the call then you should be strong enough.” 

Lance stumbled slightly, accompanied by Hunks squaked, ‘survive?!’ 

“Yes. The call has killed more than one who wished to answer it. Whether by them actually being too weak, or like you who went to far into their magic that it destroyed them.” the Dryad said easily. 

“So you mean to tell us, that if Shiro hadn't stopped Lance then he could have self destructed.” that tone coming from Pidge had ended in more than one fist fight, which she almost always won. 

“Yes.” the Dryad answered simply. 

“Well how the hell are we meant to stop that? We’re only half way there and I’m not stopping, even though I don't think I actually could.” 

The Dryad’s answering chuckle sent pangs of ice through his blood. He probably wouldn't like what she was about to say. 

“I doubt you could stop and survive too. What you need to do is keep your head out of your own magic, maybe by using it in another way… such as fulfilling a deal” She purred. 

He was right he really didn't like what she had to say. He had been hoping to keep the deal hidden for at least a little longer. She did have a point though, not to mention he didn't feel like dying just yet. He would just have to deal with Pidge and Hunk he decided as he nodded and moved to the Dryad. 

“Wait you're just going to let her bite you right here?” Keith’s voice cracked.

Lance blinked at him and wondered what he missed, who was biting who? What? 

“Noooo?” where did Keith even get that from? 

The smaller vampire looked very lost, a glance at Shiro showed the same. The big man had flushed from his tuft of white hair all the way under his collar. Lance was very confused, did they not know what a magical transfer was?  _ Hey dumbass you didn't exactly tell them what the deal was remember? They just made a guess based off their own experiences with deals.  _ Lance felt himself flush when the realization smacked him in the teeth. 

“Yeah no, definitely no biting.” he muttered. 

“Hmm I could bite you if that's what gets you off.” the Dryad flirrted. 

Lance promptly choked on his own air and googled at her. The Dryad was serious for maybe a second before she snorted and lost it.

“No, no biting here. Just a classic Magical transfer.” she giggled out. 

Lance heard his two friends groan and rolled his eyes. The babies didn't like transfers, didn't really have the magical energy for them. He had energy to spare but even he could acknowledge their unpleasantness, and their use. It was easy, if a bit awkward and didn't feel the best. Lance moved to stand before the Dryad and realized she was actually the same height as him. Made the next bit easier than if she were Pidge sized. 

Once they were in each others personal space Lance locked eyes with the Dryad. Even after the blood he’d already gave her she still looked weak, this would help with that. She nodded and Lance moved in to lean his forehead against hers, eye contact and trust all that was needed. The first bit of his magic pooled across his tongue with the taste of sea salt and caramel. On his next exhale it left his mouth as blue smoke and was pulled into the Dryad with her inhale. The push and pull stung, not like the princesses call but like trying to drink to hot coffee. It burned his throat and down into his lungs. 

It also left his legs feeling like jelly so he leaned a bit more into the Dryad and let her steady his weight. She easily took his weight and put a hand over his pulse point. Once it started going thready then the transfer would be over, until then he had to deal with it. He noticed that her fingers were cool even as his skin started to ice over under the onslaught of his magic. It felt like it took hours, it really only took a few minutes but most transfers would be done in a minute or two. When the Dryad finally pulled away she kept a hand on his shoulder as his head filled with cotton. 

Magical transfers always left him feeling like he had a shitty tequila hangover. Better than being a snack pack but still unpleasant. After a few moments of breathing and spooling his magic back into his core Lance shook his head and opened his eyes. Ignoring the weakness, he felt much better, the princess’ call was barely in the background of his mind. Goosebumps played across his skin while his body came back up to normal temperature. Once he was sure he was back in order Lance nodded at the Dryad and she let her hand fall. The open kindness in her eyes had closed off and she was studying Lance like he was some kind of insect. 

“Your magic tastes like screams boy.” she said in low Altean.

Lance bared his teeth a vicious snarl ripping out of his throat even as he took a half step backwards. The Dryad bared her teeth back but made no aggressive movement. He debated attacking, end the threat of her knowledge before it became a problem. In the end he would never attack first, not unless he knew she would become a problem. 

“Be careful with that magic boy. Its old stuff and dangerous, which I’m sure you know.” she warned before she started walking backwards, she never took her eyes off him until she melted into the trees. 

Only once she was out of sight did Lance pull his lips back over his teeth. It was only when he was sure that she would not be coming at his open back that he turned around. In the moment Hunk had placed himself in front of Pidge though she climbed halfway up his side anyway. Shiro and Keith had dropped fang though Shiro had his hands on the others arm. Even depleted Lance’s magic rolled through his system with the urge to fight or run. 

“Lance what was that?” Pidge carefully asked.

“She tried to touch on something that has nothing to do with her.” Lance said coldly with the hint of a growl still in his voice. 

He was furious. The Dryad had seen to much because he was a bleeding heart and wanted to help her. If word of what she found got out to the wrong people he would have Galra on him within days. They wouldn’t even bother bleeding him before they brought him all the way to the top of command. He could not allow that to happen, no matter what it took. Thankfully his friends didn't attempt to push the issue, they knew if it was important to their safety he would tell them. The vampires side eyed him and stayed back but he didn't care, all he needed now was to move forward and free the damn Princess. 

````

It took them another thirty minutes to walk the remaining two-ish miles. By the end of it Shiro had grabbed Lance again forcing him to slow. Low growls pushed past his teeth with every breath but he had given up on trying to stop them, it was a good conduit for the pain raging through him. Pidge had suggested sharing the burden again, but he wasn't willing to put that pain on them just because he was weak. The final few yards were crossed with Shiro practically carrying Lance as he fully descended into his magic. 

It was almost like an out of body experience, like real life was just a distant sound from the TV. He had thought that the magical transfer would pull some of the magic from his veins, but the aura of the forest was seeping into his pores. Normally it would take at least two days to fully replenish but as it was he was having to focus to keep the extra magic contained. If he didn’t focus then his magic would lash out, and with Shiro being in direct contact it would not be pleasant. Lance had already caught how Shiro would flinch away from his sparks. For whatever reason the vampire wanted nothing to do with magic, especially if he got a taste of what Lance was really capable of. 

Lance pressed his head against Shiro’s shoulder, maybe if he pressed hard enough he could stop his brain from leaking out his ears. Plus the constant growling was starting to make his throat ache. Once he eventually freed the Princess he was going to firmly swat her upside the head. Would that get him killed?  _ Oh well, worth it.  _

Finally the others hurried up and they could see the entrance of the temple. Distantly he knew that there was a reason for them going slow and that they were trying to help him but his sole focus was on the overgrown stone doorway. On first glance it wasn't much to look at, just a lump of crumbling stone in the woods. Lance knew from the last explorer that the ruins actually went underground and were remarkably well preserved through whatever Altean means. He wondered if he was going crazy for seeing a glowing pink barrier in the doorway until Shiro tried to carry them through it and bounced off. That wasn't a pleasant feeling in his already iffy condition, felt like that time he stuck his finger in an electrical socket. Shiro jerked back and dropped Lance with a hiss. 

From his new position on the ground Lance could twist to glare at the heavily blushing Shiro. The older vampire rubbed the back of his neck and avoided Lance’s gaze. Ass. Pushing himself to his feet and holding in a groan Lance studied the barrier. If he looked head on at it then it was hard to see, just like a heatwave off a black top. If he took his eyes off the barrier and let his focus slip slightly then he could see the faint pink wall of electricity. That was probably what the Dryad meant by blocks. Carefully Lance reached out to touch it, when he was about six inches away it started to zap him. Dropping his hand he turned back to his group. 

“Well we’re here! So this is probably going to be uncomfortable but I’ve gotta break through this barrier…so uhm I’d say back up.” 

They just looked at him like they didn't know what he was talking about. 

“Uh you know? The barrier Shiro bounced off of before he so kindly dropped me on my ass? I kinda have to make it to where we can actually get through it if we want to go any farther.” he elaborated. 

“Lance you’re talking Altean.” Hunk shrugged. 

Lance blinked at them and abruptly forgot every word in the english language. Normally he could tell when he hopped between languages, but this close to the barrier and in a fair amount of pain, apparently Altean came first. 

“Stay back.” he grunted in oddly accented english. 

Turning back to the barrier Lance focused on pulling his magic to the surface. It was almost too easy, half a thought pulling the blue sparks to dance around him like fireflies. Magic took forms based on the individual, for Lance the surface magic that he used most often took the look of light blue sparks. Digging deeper into the meat of his magic, dark blue smoke started to twine around him with the blue sparks glinting through. Focusing his magic into his hands he placed them flat against the barrier. Even through the icy chill of his magic’s protection, the barrier burnt his skin like metal left to roast in the July sun. 

It was instinct to jerk his hands away, he was doing it before he had even made the decision to do so. Lance shook his hands sharply at his sides, breaking this thing was not going to be fun. The sound of someone taking a step had him whirling around, a snarl at his lips. Keith jerked to a stop with his hands up palms out. Hunk had grabbed ahold of the vampires jacket but not quick enough to completely stop him. Lance snarled again and flicked a screen of sparks to form in front of them dissuading any further attempts. If they touched the sparks then it would give them tiny flecks of freezer burn. Turning back to the barrier Lance closed his eyes and tunneled deep into the frozen heart of his magic. The world around him faded away as the sound of creaking ice and frozen screams filled his ears, his core temperature dropped to the point that faint steam drifted off his exposed skin, his mouth filled with the taste of blood. 

Lance crashed into the bottom of his magic and pushed himself back to the surface dragging all the magic he could. It felt like that time his swim coach had made them swim a double length with weights fully under water. If he didn’t swim fast enough then he would never hit the surface and his magic would pour itself down his throat. Finally he opened his eyes and knew that they would be glowing solidly blue, the whole world had taken the tint turning the barrier lilac. Moving felt like he was in slow motion, and doubled gravity, but he still settled his hands on the barrier again. The heat barely registered as pinpricks underneath all his ice. 

Lance began pouring his magic into the barrier, the more he pushed thin hoarfrost started to spread across its surface. He could see his full Altean markings coming to the surface of his hands and up his arms as he used more magic. He was at about the halfway point of his magic when the whole barrier was covered with his frost. He kept pushing, leaning more heavily against the barrier as the ice thickened under his hands. He was attempting to fill a tub with a hole in the side. The more magic he poured out the more the barrier sopped it up and asked for more. Lance was at the edge of a burnout, his sparks flickering and dying as he gave everything over. 

To give the final push of energy, Lance cannibalized the wall of sparks holding the others back and pushed them into the barrier. There wasn't a shred of magic left in him when Lance finally stumbled back from the barrier. The ice was roughly two inches thick and poured fog like dry ice. His eyes kept fading in and out of focus, if he passed out the barrier would melt then he would have to start over. At least with no magic in his system the Princess’ call had dwindled down to a mosquito whine in his ears. A suddenly hot hand on his shoulder snapped Lance back into focus, when had he fallen to his knees? And when had he started drifting off? 

It was Hunk who woke him up, he was very warm.  _ Hunk looks worried did I forget to eat again? I’m sleepy buddy how about me you and Pidge pile up in one of the beds and catch a nap I’ll eat later.  _ He pondered the likelihood of dragging boney Pidge into bed without her laptop while avoiding being bit. Hunk tapped him on the forehead drawing him out of his daydream… was Hunk talking it was kind of hard to hear him. 

“Hey. Hey Lance. Lance buddy, we need you to focus for just a bit longer. You froze the barrier but we don't know how to get through it.” Hunk sounded worried, they definitely needed a cuddle pile. 

What was he talking about the barrier, he fixed that.  _ Oh not all the way oops.  _

“Break it.” he slurred. 

Whoever he was leaning against was very comfortable, he could take a nap on their black boots.  _ I should buy Pidge a nice pair of black combat boots, much better than the ugly things she wears now.  _ Oh Hunk wanted him again, did he want boots too? 

“What do you mean break it? Break the ice?” ah there was Pidge. 

He nodded sluggishly, he was starting to get a really bad headache, “ya, I dunno punch it or something.”

Hunk moved off out of Lance’s sightline to deal with the barrier. He was busy debating whether curling up on the boots was worth the effort of moving or if he could get a nap just lying where he was. A sudden sharp pain flashed across his knuckles and he whined without opening his eyes. All he wanted was to have an amazing nap with his bond mates, was that so hard to do? He whined again, a different tone slightly higher pitched, a call for his bond mates. With no response his eyes slowly peeled open, Hunk was curled over his hand with Pidge flitting around him. 

“Why did you actually punch two inch thick ice?!” she shrieked. 

“I don't know! Lance suggested it, and I’m just worried about him and it kinda seemed like a good idea at the time!” Hunk defended. 

Lance whined again and tried to get up but failed. Even keeping his eyes open felt like a massive effort. But his bond mate was hurt and he would shred anything that stood between them, even himself. He gritted his teeth and swallowed the groan that wanted to escape at moving his arms, getting them off his lap and onto the ground left him panting. Whoever he was leaning on shifted, Lance sniffed and caught the scent of cinnamon and blood. Maybe Keith? He didn't know the vampires scents apart. 

He kept his eyes trained on Hunk, his friend was hurt and not even the full might of the Galra could keep them apart. His whole body hurt whether from the call or pushing himself too far with his magic he wasn't sure. It didn't matter, he was intact, he would get up. Lance heaved himself to his knees, barely keeping in a wince that would have knocked him back over. Another shove had him on his feet though he swayed like a newborn fawn. A hand locked around his arm helping steady him, Lance had been right, he was leaning against Keith. He cast his eyes around for Shiro and found him inspecting the damned barrier. There was a foot long crack through the center of it, Hunk really had punched it. 

Locking his spine Lance took a single step forward and nearly face planted. He might have underestimated how messed up he was. Thankfully Keith had great reflexes and caught him before he could break his nose on the ground. Keith slung Lance’s arm over his shoulder and half carried him over to his friends who hadn't looked up yet. 

“Lance! You shouldn’t be pushing yourself.” Hunk chided, ignoring the fact that his fist was massively swollen. 

Pidge looked up at Lance and he swallowed at her shiny gold eyes. She so rarely showed such plain emotion, but both her brothers were hurt and she couldn't do anything. Lance sighed and pulled the girl into a side hug, she went easily and tucked herself into his side. He ran his hand up and down her arm to offer some comfort and Hunk looked over his hand. 

“Did you break it big guy?” Lance croaked, jeez his voice was wrecked. 

Hunk looked up and sniffled to clear his nose before he answered, “think I at least fractured a knuckle.” 

Lance carefully pulled his arm from Keith’s shoulder but stayed leaning on him. He gently grabbed Hunks wrist and pulled it closer to him. He didn’t poke at the knuckles but just from a glance they were swollen and bruised. Lance carefully laid a hand over the abused skin letting the leftover chill of his magic work as an icepack.

“The stories say that the Princess had healing magic, maybe she will be able to help once we get through the barrier.” Lance offered. 

“I don't know how we’ll get through, that ice you put up is pretty thick.” Shiro contributed as he walked up. 

He paused to clap Hunk on the shoulder before moving to be in Lance’s sightline better. Lance paused to think, he needed to wing it the right way. 

“I had to freeze the barrier. Or well I didn’t have to freeze it, that's just my brand of magic. What I had to do was pour my magic into it until I could overload the Princesses spell so we could get through. Her magic is busy trying to combat my own so we have to get through before the ice breaks.” there, that was a nice tidy explanation.

“What would have happened if you hadn't been able to overload the Princess’ spell? As it was you nearly died anyway, we could hear your heartbeat failing.” Lance really needed to talk to Keith about appropriate times to talk. 

He could practically see the insides of Hunk’s skull as his eyes bugged out of his head. Pidge had gone deathly still under Lance’s arm.

“Lance what?” oh it was never a good thing to make Hunk sound so small. 

If the big guy cried everyone cried. Then was usually dragged into a crushing hug, which didn’t sound smart when Lance was already hurt. 

“I knew the risks when I started this trip.” Lance tried to sound flippant but maybe his ruined voice or the fit of coughing didn't convince the others. 

As it was Pidge's voice was harder than steel as she asked “risks?” 

Lance swallowed desperately as he tried to find some way to say it gently, “uh, could you get me some water?” his attempt at deflection was only met with a scowl from Pidge as her pupils shifted green. He was so screwed. 

“Uhm well. Uh if someone tried to break through the barrier and didn’t have the magical energy… well the barrier would have just kept taking past their limits. Until it killed them?” his voice trailed off to a squeak as fury colored his friends faces. 

Either he was very screwed, or the princess would be. Pidge was always quick to anger, but she was always quick to fizzle out too. The rage coloring Hunks face was deeper, and would burn for a long long time. 

“So that's the second time this Princess Allura has almost gotten you killed.” Keith mused quietly. 

“Is there going to be another time we should worry about or is our friend going to live through this?” Pidge hissed. 

Lance shifted on his feet and looked anywhere but at his two incredulous friends. Pidge pulled out from under his arm and turned to better glare at him. 

“Lance!” Hunk snapped. 

He couldn't hide his flinch as his eyes started to fill. Couldn't they see this was necessary? The last two fully blooded Alteans, even ignoring that Allura was the Princess, could be pivotal in ending the Galra. He wasn't. As sad as his friends and family would be if the trip killed him he wasn't needed in the grand scheme of things. 

“Okay, yelling and pointing fingers isn't going to get us anywhere,” Shiro sighed rubbing at his eyes, “Lance what do you know about going forward? Is there going to be more danger?” 

Lance swallowed as eyes settled back onto him. Could he ask for a break to breath? He was starting to feel faint again. 

“From here it should be ok. Even up to this point was guess work, but I don't see why anything should come up until we get to the Princess.” 

His friends ket hard stares on him, trying to figure out if he was lying. He wasn't, he didn't know what to expect any more. He was just happy to have survived breaking the barrier. Which was steadily melting in the summer heat, he needed to find a way to get them through solid ice. He would sell his right arm for the ability to teleport. 

“If anything else comes up we take care of it, not you Lance.” Pidge said flatly. 

He opened his mouth to protest, what if they got hurt? But Pidge slashed her hand sharply. 

“No! We can  _ feel _ how drained you are Lance! We will not risk you getting hurt worse. If you can accept that then I will personally make sure you end up back in the van with no way to get back. Do you understand?” she snarled. 

Lance nodded once. He had forgotten that the bond went two ways, they would know just how badly off he was. And he had no intentions of pissing Pidge off anymore than she already was. Shiro and Keith subtly leaned away from the girl and Lance had to hold in a snicker. She was terrifying when she wanted to be. 

“But for real, can you two please wrap Hunks hand, and get me a bottle of water?” Lance asked. 

Pidge gentled slightly and nodded. She carefully grabbed Hunk by his wrist and dragged him over to where they had dropped their backpacks. Lance waited until he was sure that their attention was off them before he walked to the barrier. Shiro raised an eyebrow but moved to support him on the other side from where he was using Keith as a crutch. They stopped a bit away from the barrier, the ground a foot in front of it was soaked and rapidly turning into mud soup. Their time window was closing, they needed to figure something out quickly. 

“Do you have any idea?” Keith asked Shiro. 

The other man just shrugged and turned to Lance. He took stock of his own magic, next to nothing. In the time since he had formed the barrier the supercharged aura of the forest had been at work. Even so he barely had a wisp of smoke in his veins to summon. He took a step away from Keith and actually managed to stand though not steadily, he put a hand on the ice to help. Under his hand the ice pulled like a living thing, like a heartbeat. It was Allura’s magic, he could recognize it from the barrier. Her magic was moving through his living ice. 

It gave him an idea. If he could pull it off then they would be able to get through the barrier. They might not be able to get back out without the Princess, but they had food and water to last until his magic replenished. He wasn't sure how long the vampires could go without feeding but they would cross that bridge when they got to it. Lane carefully threaded the slight magic he had into the ice and brushed against the Princess’. They weren't really similar, but his plan was doable. They would just have to be quick. 

“Hunk, Pidge, could you please come here and bring the packs.” he said. 

Shiro and Keith looked at him so he gestured them to come closer. Once the other two came up, Pidge carrying his pack, he pulled his hand off the ice and turned to them. 

“I figured out how to get us through the barrier but it's going to have to happen now.” Lance said quickly. 

Not giving them time to ask questions Lance dropped a quick kiss onto the top of Pidges head and grabbed Hunks hand for a quick squeeze. He turned his back on their sputtering and gave a small smile to the confused vampires. Lance took a deep breath and one more placed his hands onto the living ice. He kept his eyes open this time, looking deep into the ice. He pushed the faint bit of magic he had into the ice and latched onto Allura’s magic. Pulling her magic into himself was like drinking acid, he could feel it bolstering his magic even as it weakened him. The more he used the quicker he faded. 

Lance could feel warm wetness spreading across his mouth and heard the vampires sudden surprised snarls. He had a nose bleed. He could feel Hunk and Pidge frantically clawing at the bond, trying to make him stop before he killed himself. He ignored them focusing on the wet slide of his breath in and out of his chest. Allura’s magic was hot, not the frozen rage he was used to but a burning fury. Even so he could manipulate it, make it open a tear in the barrier. He let his ice stay mostly in place to brace the rip and melted a doorway into it. 

“Go! Quickly!” he gasped.

The others slid through the small opening he left without a pause. Hunk was the last one before him and had to slide through sideways. Lance tore his hands off the ice, leaving the skin of his palms behind, then slid through on his knees as the barrier crashed down on his heels. Lance looked up at the others staring down at him and grinned with blood in his teeth, 

“Cool that worked!” he gasped then promptly passed out and landed on his face. 

```

The group of four stood gaping for a moment before Pidge and Hunk were yelling and rushing for Lance. Hunk crashed to the ground catching himself on his broke hand but he either didn't notice or didn’t care. Pidge pulled Lance’s head into her lap as Hunk felt for the boy’s pulse. Keith had his mouth and nose covered with a hand, more from the smell of blood than shock. The vampires could hear the slow weak beating of his heart anyway. The problem was that as his heart beat more blood seeped out his nose and palms. 

The smell of Altean blood was even worse than when Lance had pulled off the silver choker. Keith’s fangs had dropped so far that they ached, he knew his eyes would be solidly yellow. Shiro was only slightly better off, he had a good 50 years on Keith and had learned more control in that time. Even so his fangs were punched fully out and into his bottom lip. The off taste of vampire blood filled his mouth and helped distract him when Hunk looked up. 

“He's alive, just very weak. Are you two ok?” 

Shiro took a shallow breath and pulled his fangs back into his gums, they went but not easily. 

“We’re fine.” he said simply. 

He moved forward and left Keith where he stood, the younger would take a moment longer to get control of himself. Altean blood called to him just as badly as blood had in his first terror filled days of vampire hood. It had been a long time since he had been affected that strongly. He could only imagine how much worse it was for Keith, who had never fully mastered the bloodlust. Shiro knelt and carefully lifted one of Lance’s eyelids. His pupils were fully dilated but reacted slightly to the light.

“His eyes are responding, I think that’s a good sign.” he told them. 

Pidge didn't even bother looking up, she just continued running her hands through his hair. Hunk nodded but didn't look away from where his fingers pressed into Lance’s pulse. Shiro pushed himself onto his feet and ran his eyes over Keith, he had put the fangs away though his eyes were still tinted yellow. He moved to stand back beside Keith and the other leaned onto him slightly. Keith had never been big on PDA, mostly subtle touch and closeness. Shiro lightly hooked one finger around the hem of Keith’s jacket, just to hold onto him. 

He felt oddly like someone was watching them, but when he glanced around of course there was no one. The atmosphere, the scent of blood, the fading adrenaline, all of it was bringing back old memories. The kind that he really didn’t need to be surfacing when he had a hurt kid to look over. He was supposed to be this big strong warrior, hell Lance looked up to him! He didn't have time to be afraid, or even worried. Keith could tell, he always could, but he would keep quiet until he could pull Shiro into a corner. Unlike the few times he could see Lance plotting Keith’s demise after Keith had asked the question everyone was thinking. 

Lance let out a tiny noise, something along the lines of a progeny call among vampires. It caused his two bond mates to pause then hunch forward with answering croons. His eyes cracked open the tiniest bit just enough to see that they were solidly blue. The markings from earlier flashed across his skin as dark blue lines rather than the fluorescent glowing from before. They sank back into his skin a moment later leaving no trace but similar markings lit up along the corridor in soft pink. 

“Do we go ahead and follow the markings?” Pidge whispered. 

In response the lights flashed brighter and took on a touch of white. 

“I think that is your answer.” Keith grumbled. 

He hadn't wanted to come along to begin with, even with them being right he didn't want to be there. He hated not being in control, not knowing everything. Shiro felt the same, but he saw the benefits of freeing the Alteans. Though maybe not if they got the friendly boy killed. Just knowing the group of three for a day had shown they were incredibly close and would do anything for each other. He could respect that. 

“We need to go, if the Princess has healing magic she may be able to help Lance.” Shiro said gently. 

The others nodded and Shiro chose to not comment as Pidge subtly wiped at her eyes. Hunk didn’t even attempt to hide his tears, but when he looked up his face had gone hard as stone. 

“Even if she doesn’t have healing magic I would have  _ words  _ with her.” the big man said coldly. 

Pidge looked up again, her pupils having gone green, “If something happens to Lance I don’t care how important he thinks she is I will rip her to shreds.” 

Shiro raised an eyebrow, then remembered that the small seemingly innocent kid had scared off fully grown Galra. Was enough to make the immensely powerful Lance flinch away. The boy hadn’t even been more than startled when Keith had practically dropped fang in his ear. Maybe the girl was someone to note. 

“I’ll carry Lance.” Shiro offered. 

Hunk raked him with his eyes, maybe debating the safety. Shiro smiled with his teeth, no fangs. 

“Just be careful.” he grumbled moving back from Lance.

Shiro stooped and picked him up doing his best to ignore the blood. The boy was light in his arms, but at least this time he was a normal temperature. Vampires naturally ran cool with their slower heart rates but it was very odd to reach out and find someone with skin like ice. Lance’s magic was odd to begin with, supposedly Alteans had one major magic and a moderate grasp over the rest. They had seen his surface magic, but he hadn’t even mentioned his specialty. If he even had one with being a mixed breed. Alteans were an interesting species. 

Shiro had spent more time than he ever wanted with Galra, been at their mercy even. The higher ups had whispered about Alteans, about how they could kill whole squads of Galra without blinking. A few years ago there had been whispers of a rogue Altean that wrecked the mind of a commander. They had brought him in a few cells down from Shiro’s cell, he was stark mad. After too long with no more mention of the Altean they chalked it up as a coincidence. But now as Shiro carried a limp boy he wondered if there was more to the story. 

He had stopped bleeding, and every now and then his eyes would slide open to expose that they were solidly blue. He had shifted once, and grabbed the edge of Shiro’s vest. The tiny movement had absolutely melted Shiro’s heart. He had to be careful while they were walking, it probably wouldn’t be smart to smack the boy’s head off a corner or any bits of rubble. If he did that then Pidge might turn the glare she was busy sending at everything onto him. She had pulled out her notebook and half assedly sketched a few of the glowing markings as they walked before she gave up. 

The deeper they went the more twitchy Shiro got. The feeling of being watched increased and he pondered Altean ghosts. Out of all the species that walked the earth ghosts had to be his least favorite, they were nasty and annoying. And he really really didn't like possession. Altean ghosts would probably be ten times as bad. Or maybe it was the Princess pulling some kind of spook act. The longer they walked the more his gums ached with holding in his fangs, the scent of blood was starting to get to him. If he and Keith hadn’t decided to feed before they had come on the trip it would probably be worse. 

By Shiro’s guess they were a quarter mile beneath ground now. The glow of the markings had not only increased but multiplied. Nearly every surface was covered with them. Every couple of minutes Lance’s markings would surface then sink back beneath his skin. The only ones that had stayed were the little blue V’s on his cheeks. The deeper they got the more Lance reacted, his eyes opened more often, his finger twitched, at one point he called to his bond mates and both of them whipped around. Other than that the walk was silent, tension rising with each step. He didn’t know when they would reach the Princess but he could only hope it would be soon. 

Once they finally reached the bottom Lance made his biggest movement. Shiro was carrying him bridal style and Lance nuzzled slightly into his chest. It would have been sweet if he hadn’t also wiped blood into Shiro’s vest. It made Keith narrow his eyes slightly before he rolled his eyes. Leave it to Keith to get jealous over a half dead teenager. They had stopped descending and were in a long hallway where every bit of surface area was covered in markings. The glow was so bright that everyone had squint their eyes into tiny slits, Lance opened his eyes and immediately hissed. Instantly the lights dimmed and the pink was replaced with white that pulsed slightly. 

Shiro looked down at the boy who had opened his eyes fully. They were completely solid blue, it sent a shiver down his spine. He didn't seem conscious, or at least not fully. He seemed to have some kind of connection to the markings which most likely meant they were connected to the Princess. The further down the hall they went the more Lance seemed to rouse, when they passed through the doorway at the end and entered an antechamber Lance took a deep breath and blinked. In between one blink and the next the solid blue faded from his eyes leaving one eye solid pink and the other solid white. 

“Release me.” the boy flatly ordered.

Shiro might not know Lance but he got the feeling this was not normal. Every instinct was telling him to back away, preferably with Keith safely behind him. Moving slowly Shiro set the boy down, just half an hour ago he had passed out after not being able to stand. Now he was perfectly stable on his feet, though stiff. 

“Lance?” Keith asked. 

“Not Lance.” Pidge whispered without pulling her eyes off Lance’s body. 

The being in his body cocked its head at them before smirking. 

“You are the bond mates. He did say you are smart. No, we are not your Lance. I am Princess Allura of Altea.” he said in a proud yet cold voice. 

His voice shifted slightly becoming more energetic and warmer “And I am Coran Wembleton. We are just borrowing young Lance’s body so that we can release our own without any more problems!” 

The group blinked at the beings in Lance’s body until blue crackled through his eyes once more. They stumbled to the side and retched before jerking back to standing like a marionette. 

“His body is weak we must hurry if we wish to make use of it.” Allura said shortly. 

She turned her back and stiffly walked forwards as Pidge growled. She moved as if to grab Allura but Hunk snagged her shirt collar before she could. When Pidge whirled around with a hurt look he just shook his head. Understanding flashed on Pidge’s face before she turned back to observe. Shiro just really, really hated possession. Allura knelt in the center of the room and pressed her hands onto the ground, the marking on Lance’s body surfaced again, though this time pink and in different designs. 

A pink glow spread around her and two pods smoothly rose from the ground. In one they could see a dark skinned female seemingly sleeping, in the other an older man. The glow surrounding Lance shifted from pink to white, slowly it intensified until it was painful to look at. After holding its brightness for around ten seconds the light vanished and the man opened his eyes. The pink reappeared and went through the same process as he pushed open the door of the pod. The man stepped out and clung onto the side of the door frame as he re-acclimatized to being in a body for the first time in 10,000 years. The woman pushed her own door open and stepped out but seemed to have no need to show weakness.

She cut a rather impressive figure Shiro supposed. She definitely looked regal and he would have thought her kind if not for the hard look in her eyes and what he knew. She walked to where Lance had stayed kneeling after the possession and laid a hand on his forehead. A pink aura lit around her then moved to swirl around him. After a moment she pulled away and looked over the rest of them as Lance pushed himself to a stand. 

“You already know who I am.” her true voice was just as smooth as Shiro expected, though with a bit of an odd accent.

He nodded and stepped forwards intent on helping Lance if they boy needed it but the Princess held up a single hand. 

“Stop. Lance has said that you are not Galra, obviously he has been fooled. I will not kill you only on his word but you will leave this place now.” 

Shiro wondered if he was gaping like a fish, he knew Keith was. Lance had spun around with betrayal on his face but the Princess didn’t even glance his way. 

“Actually  _ Princess, _ ” Pidge practically spat the title, “it’s like the square argument. All Galra are Vampires but not all Vampires are Galra. You've been out of it for 10,000 years but a lot has changed.” 

Lance gaped at his friend and shook his head slightly but had the tiniest of smiles of his face. 

“I would have you know that I do have an understanding of the modern world. I do not care for whatever excuses you have been fed, speak to me that way again and you will not speak again.” the Princess hissed. 

Lance snarled viciously and the princess whirled to glare at him but he didn’t waver. 

“I already told you that your world is gone and done. We came all this way and risked our lives for you you will show some respect or we will  _ all  _ turn around and walk out of here without a second thought.” 

The Princess gasped and was probably going to say more but the other Altean man clapped his hands loudly twice. 

“Lets avoid any drama now! It has been a very tiring day for our guest and we ourselves are not where we should be Allura. How about we all sit and breath for a minute.” he offered. 

Shiro noticed that his smile actually looked genuine, and he didn't make excuses for the Princess either. She would be a piece of work but maybe he could handle this Coran. Lance walked past the Princess and came to stand with the group, never letting his chin drop though he did grin brightly at them. 

“Sorry Shiro seem to have bled on ya.” he said gently. 

He said it very casually but Shiro could see the apology written all over his face and nodded with a slight smile. He heard the Princesses quick inhalation at the words but she held her tongue. 

“Its alright Lance, I can take the vest off and it’s not like you did it on purpose. You were half dead.” the last bit he might have aimed at the princess’ stiff spine but he would never admit it. 

She didn't deign him with a response but Coran did nod sagely. 

“Yes young Lance has been put through the wringer today. Allura healed the physical damage but you will have to handle the magical drain on your own.” 

Lance shrugged and pulled a water bottle out of his backpack. After draining half of it in one go he tossed it to the princess who snagged it one handed and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“I'm sure all those years dried out your throat. Go ahead and drink up we each have a few.” he said casually. 

“Actually the pods kept us in perfect condition” she said rather snootily in Shiro’s opinion “...but thank you.” she tacked on with a bit of a smile. 

“Hunk broke his hand, think you got enough juice to fix it up?” Lance asked. 

The Princess narrowed her eyes and stuck her nose slightly into the air, “Of course I can! Mister Hunk if you would please come here.” 

Hunk gave Lance a look like he had just stolen the last cookie but Lance winked and shooed him forwards. Shiro had to hold in a snicker, Lance knew damn well what he was doing in antagonizing the princess. He could act silly and vapid all he wanted, a sharp brain whirred behind those blue eyes. Speaking of Lance locked eyes with Shiro and waved him forwards. He complied, a slightly more reluctant Keith following. They didn't want to be any closer to the Princess and based on her quick glances at them she felt the same. 

“Me, Hunk and Pidge always end up in a warm cuddle pile when we sleep together so we’ll only need one sleeping bag. You two will have to share so that the other two can as well, I imagine it gets cold down here at night and while Allura helped heal me I am in no condition to be pushing myself.” 

Indeed his under eyes were noticeably dark and his skin had lost some of its tan glow. If he admitted he wasn't perfect after the day he'd had then Shiro wasn't going to complain. He knew Keith wouldn’t be getting any sleep, too busy keeping an eye on the Alteans. 

“Sounds like a plan Lance, but you can give Coran and the Princess both blankets, vampires run colder so we don't need them.” 

Lance nodded, a pleased expression on his face.  _ Holy crap he knew that. He wanted me to say it in order to look good to the Princess. This damn kid is devious.  _ Lance might have seen the revelation on his face but he just smiled and turned to Hunk who was walking up and looking at his hand in shock. He had taken off the bandages and the swelling had gone completely along with the bruising. 

“Ok guys why don't we go ahead and get some sleep then we can talk and plan in the morning!” Lance said brightly. 

He handed the Alteans their blankets, then him and the other two curled around each other on the ground, in what could be called a cuddle pile. Shiro settled against the wall and Keith sat beside him leaning against his shoulder. He knew that Keith would be lucky to get a few hours of sleep but at least he would pretend for Shiro. All he could do was close his eyes and hope for good dreams. 


	3. Build Until you Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy howdy! got a little present for my lovelies who have been enjoying this! as a reminder I do have a discord server where i discuss what im working on, post little spoilers, ask for story suggestions, run little contests and argue about the best types of foods lol. say the word and ill give you a link!

Lance felt like he had drank a whole entire bottle of vodka and chased it with raw sewage. He rode a bucking bull in assless chaps. It was day three of finals and his blood was caffeine but he couldn't sleep because if he failed Iverson’s exam his dad would murder him. It was PT time in his training and Antok wanted to actually murder his for being a smart ass. He was barely awake and he already regretted every decision that had ever brought him to that moment. 

He could hear talking, maybe they were attempting to be quiet but his Altean ears were great for eavesdropping. It was Shiro and he assumed Coran, the only oddly accented male voice he couldn't recognize. He was sweating, he had been serious about too warm cuddle piles. He was using Hunk as a pillow and had Pidge sprawled across his lap. They all needed the closeness after the day before. 

While normally he loved a good cuddling pile, and usually slept the best in one, he really needed to get up. As his magic crept back into his body his core temperature was dropping which wouldn’t be appreciated by his friends. Plus he really had to pee. Opening his eyes, Lance surveyed the best way to escape the cuddle pile. First would be the girl with her legs in his lap and head on Hunks arm. Carefully he picked up her legs and swung out from under them, setting her legs back down she just curled further into Hunk. Lance lifted Hunk’s arm from around his shoulders and slid off the big guy’s stomach before replacing his arm. Finally free, Lance crooned softly in his throat as he stood up. 

He knew it would sooth his friends so that they didn't run the risk of waking up with him gone and start to panic. He met Shiro’s and Coran’s eyes and waved a little before placing a finger over his lips. They nodded and Lance turned his attention back to his own body, he felt as stiff as a wood board. Starting at the top of his body and working his way down he began to crack his joints. First his neck, then his shoulder, a quick twist for the spine, bringing his ankle into his chest to get his hips and knees in one go and finally his wrists and ankles. It relieved some of the pressure in his bones and loosened him up enough to where he wouldn't be limping to walk. With his body mostly sorted out Lance crept over to Shiro and Coran. 

Keith had fallen asleep against Shiro’s shoulder, his face not set into a scowl for once. If he could he would be awwing, but he didn't want to risk waking him up. As he walked up, Coran rose to his feet and offered a hand for Lance to shake. 

“I know I already thanked you, but thank you again for risking yourself to help us. The Princess can be a bit abrasive but she feels the same way.” he said in a quiet voice. 

Lance smiled as he shook the Alteans hand. He could feel Corans magic brushing against his own and probably would have purred if he didn't catch himself. Coran was an Amp, he could amplify magic. In Lance’s weakened state, any boost to his magic was a blessing. Lance pulled away and checked the Advisor over, he looked spry and healthy for someone who should have been dead 10,000 years ago. He had the kind of face that could be 40 or 80, even after sharing a head Lance wasn't actually sure how old he was, but most of his face was covered by an impressive orange moustache. 

“Did we wake you up?” Shiro whispered from his spot on the ground. 

Lance smiled down at the vampire and shook his head, “Nah I just woke up not really sure why.” 

Coran hummed and Lance looked back up at him. He was playing with his moustache and looking down the hallway that led back outside. Lance noticed with a start that the Princess was not somewhere in the room curled up asleep. 

“You may have noticed Allura freeing Trigel from her service of watching over the temple. It had quite the magical shockwave.” 

Lance raised his eyebrows at that, Trigel must be the Dryad. He knew that Allura would end up freeing her but hadn’t imagined she would until the morning. He didn't even know what time it was, they had left their phones in the van. The trio didn't want to run the risk of losing them, and Lance didn't need half his contacts calling them in a panic after he freed the Alteans. The releasing of the ages old spell, and the awakening of their magics was probably felt around the world. The Galra knew the second it happened. Which meant that it probably was not a good idea for Allura to be wandering off on her own. maybe Coran had the same idea, or at least followed Lance’s train of thought.

“She has also taken down the Barrier, so if you would like to step outside for a bit you can go ahead.” He said easily. 

Lance nodded, he needed to use the bathroom anyway, he could check on the Princess. Even if he wouldn't be much help if anything happened as drained as he was. He knew she was powerful, had gotten that much from sharing his head with her. Her primary magic was healing, that wasn't exactly helpful when a massive bloodsucker was coming for your throat. How much of the old poetry was true? Allura was definitely not the kind hearted princess they quoted her to be, how accurate was her battle prowess? Would it be really patronizing if she knew he was worried? 

“Just go boy.” Coran laughed and shook head.

Lance smiled sheepishly at him and rubbed at the back of his neck. Was he really that transparent? If Coran thought it was a good idea then Lance couldn’t mess up too terribly. He shrugged and shoved his hands into his jean pockets, at least he could go to the bathroom. He made his way down the hall and whistled a little tune to himself. 

```

Once the sound of Lance’s whistling faded down the hall Coran sighed and let the bright smile off his face. The Galran named Shiro turned to him but didn't say anything, Coran could appreciate that. He needed some quiet without worrying about any one killing each other just for a minute. He would deal with Allura and Lance on coming fight when it actually happened. The boy had never dealt with proper Alteans, he was in for a surprise when he pushed the Princess too far. 

They were the last. When Alfor had locked Coran away to help guide Allura he had not truly expected the Galra to win. He almost thought they would be woken a few months later without the threat of war. He expected that he would be able to go home to his wife and daughter. He expected to eat dinner with his loving King and Queen. He expected to be home and happy, not left alone in a world he didn't recognize. Not to be freed by a mere child with secrets staining his mind as surely as the blood on his clothes. 

He was too old for this, even by Altean standards he was nearing the age where he could retire off the front line and just be the Advisor. The first Galra peace treaty had been signed long before he was born, he had thought it would last long after his death. His daughter had the sweetest Galra wife, they were even looking to adopt soon. They would both be dead now. Tears burned the back of his throat at the thought. He could barely look down at his wrist where a white and grey braided bracelet sat. White for his magic, grey for his daughter’s. To symbolize their closeness and love, she had made it for him when she was close to 80 and he had never taken it off. He never would. A child was meant to live long after their parents, yet Coran was left alone in this new violent time. 

While Allura was a stubborn, angry, prideful, warrior princess he was grateful she was with him. He had been there the day she was born, was the third person to hold the squealing baby. Watching her and his daughter play while he went over court papers had been the highlight of many days. Allura fully had the ability to become a wonderful queen, now she was the ruler of a dead people. When they were in stasis they could feel every twinkling light of the Alteans. Watching them break could have easily broke them. His family’s death nearly had, he only held on for Allura when Alfor’s light vanished. In all the centuries later each small light vanishing was harder to swallow, even those that died under the weight of Alluras call. Lance was the brightest light they had seen in many, many long years. 

The boy was only 18, nearly a toddler to an Altean. Yet he avoided Galra, decoded the riddles, lead his friends to them, faced the full might of Allura’s magic, and finally unlocked them. Coran wasn't sure about the boy, even from the brief amount of time they had spent together in the Mindscape, Coran knew he had secrets. For one so young he was incredibly adapt with mental manipulation. His shields should have required at least half a decade of training. Coran picked up very few surface thoughts beyond his devotion to his bond mates. Which in and of itself the boy should not have been able to do! He was a mystery shrouded in blue smoke. 

If Coran wanted to get to know the young half breed he would need to start somewhere else. Or more specifically  _ someone  _ else. Out of everything he had picked up in the boys mind his feelings regarding those around him had been the strongest. Strongest was the intense love and willingness for his bond mates. They happened to still be asleep so Coran couldn't ask them. The boy had amazing respect for the Galran hunters, one of whom Coran sat by and was still awake. 

“So, tell me how long you have known Lance.” 

Shiro looked over and Coran made sure he still had his pleasant court mask firmly on. He was nothing more than an old man trying to pass the silence. Chatter was always the easiest way to get information. He knew Lance used the same methods, saw much of his younger self in the boy. 

“We actually don't know him at all. We only met him yesterday morning before coming on this trip. It was actually Pidge that reached out and convinced us.” 

Coran let his mask crack enough to raise an eyebrow. How could Lance already have so much respect and certain affections for someone he hadn't even known a full 24 hours. 

“Yeah, it does seem like a pretty short time. Apparently he knew of us from some of our past exploits, Pidge says he looked up to us.” Shiro paused to look down with a blush.

A man who didn't seem to know what to do with a bit of hero worship. Coran liked that, a big ego was a pain for him to deal with. 

“Uh, we’re not Galra like Lance said. Technically vampires are a subspecies that did originate from Galra, but we’re not them. We feed exclusively on animal blood mainly, along with a handful of other differences. We’ve gained some notoriety from stirring up trouble with the Galra, stopping attacks, busting up slave selling, the like.”

Any blandness that Coran had on his face fled before plain faced shock. Lance had tried to insist that the hunters were not Galra but he hadn't truly believed that as far as he could throw mister Hunk. A whole separate subspecies? One that the Galra seemingly had no control over and routinely caused problems for them? He had assumed that the Galra had conquered everything, that any other species there was cowered beneath their feet.

“Explain,” he croaked “Explain to me what the world is now. And how it got there.”

Shiro sighed and rubbed at the scar on the bridge of his nose. Coran wanted to know about that too, and the other scars that decorated the vampires exposed skin. Later though, first the new world he was going to be stepping into. 

“I can tell from your face you expected the Galra to be the supreme rulers of earth. I think they expected that too, when they started this miserable war. I’m not sure on the exact details but something went wrong, they tried some kind of trick to make them stronger and it failed. It killed countless Galra to begin with, those that survived came out different. They were stronger and faster yes, but more bloodthirsty. They couldn't go as long without feeding, and they needed more blood at once. Most troublesome is that all Galra became infertile, a long lifespan means nothing if there is no next generation. 

“In order to combat this, one Galran Druid named Hagar started playing with genetics. She found a way to mix Human DNA and Galran to create vampires. It's a messy process, and doesn't always work but it seemed like something that would work. The Galra celebrated thinking they had found the answer to all their problems. The problem was that most of their subjects were unwilling, slaves captured off the streets. They didn't care about the Galra’s goal of world domination, they had been ripped from their homes and turned against their will. Some organized an escape, dozens of new vampires freed into the world. 

“Eventually they discovered their differences to their Sires. We are weaker than a full Galra but we can feed on animal blood. We can turn others into vampires with no Galra interference. We may have come from the Galra, and resemble them in many ways but we are not them. In my many years on this earth I have seen the worst the Galra has to offer, but I’ve also met kind Galra. The ones who hate their cruel brethren, who feed as rarely as possible and never kill. It's only through the few kind ones that I’ve survived.” 

Shiro broke off and looked down at the sleeping vampire against him. Keith had snuggled closer during his talk and seemed to be getting closer to waking. Coran took the silence to think about everything that he had just been told. The quest for world domination had been what originally started the war, Alteans vowing to protect the lesser species from those who they considered brothers. Galra had always been about strength, those seen as weak were lesser and to be put down. After the Galra treaties long before Coran had been born they had seemingly gentled, though apparently not enough. 

He wondered what would have been if they had been able to show the Galra their ways. Ways of helping lesser species and bringing them up rather than stomping them down. Would the war have still happened? Or could he have lived the rest of his life in peace, died surrounded by his family. How many grandchildren would he have had. What blessings would Allura bring to her kingdom. Would Lance still come to exist if his blood didn't have to be hidden for fear of his own death. Would the scared man beside him smile more. Coran was smart, he could guess how Shiro had became a vampire, and where a fair amount of those scars came from. 

A whole people ruined, another people killed for greed. Countless years of peace and growth sacrificed so that the select could be on top of everything. He remembered Zarkon like he had seen him a week ago, for him it had been. When Zarkon had spit in Alfor’s face and declared war, they had been friends since they were children. The hurt and betrayal on his king's face as saliva slid off his face in the silent hall. When Zarkon had stalked out of the hall, Coran could see silent tears on his face, something he had never told Alfor. Every ounce of pain they faced caused by the need to be better than everyone around them. 

Coran looked down at his hands, the calluses he had were from writing, not carrying a sword. He was not a warrior, he was a teacher. His bracelet caught his eye again and brought the pain of loss screaming to the surface. So much of his life had been given for the betterment of others, why should the best things in his life be taken away. Romelle had barely lasted a year into the war, though it was longer than many others. He could almost guarantee that Romelle had died protecting others, she and her wife were often in the town playing with the children and helping wherever they could. They were so good and bright and happy but had been slaughtered for what made them amazing. 

His people were mostly pacifists. Other than the soldiers, many had only used a knife to cut bread. Most of them were cut down like wheat in the early days, whole groups of stars blinking out of existence. Coran summoned his magic to pool in his hands, he always thought of it as water or maybe milk with its white coloring. Alteans were all gifted magic users, but how many of them had been able to twist their magic to protect themselves and others. Even Allura with her massive amounts of healing magic could have only helped after someone got hurt.

She had trained with the guards from the time she was strong enough to lift a heavy Altean broadsword. If she hadn't been locked away she would have died with her people, a blade in her hand and a scream on her lips. He knew the rage and pain that burned through her. As princess and future queen it was her duty to protect. Even as the Altean people bowed before the royals, the royals knelt before their people. Her people had been wiped out cruelly, he would be amazed if she didn't raze the Galra to the ground. 

She could too, she was incredibly smart and had more determination than a billy goat. He would guide her, help in any plans he could to bring justice. If she could manage to convince Lance to join her then that was just another powerhouse at her side. Lance seemed to praise his bond mates minds, if they could help then that was even better. The Vampires he wasn't so sure of, if they would help then it could mean battles won. But would Allura look past their similarities to the Galra long enough for him to explain why they could be useful? Did Lance have some kind of plan beyond freeing them to begin with? 

Coran needed information to make proper plans. He could hear footsteps returning. They weren't talking, he hoped they had held off on fighting until he was around to sooth Allura’s sharp words. For a princess she had terrible manners and never cared for sugar coating. From the brief impression of Lance, he had gotten so far the boy was adept at handling people, but also pretty sensitive. Their steps didn't sound stiff though, just hurried, like they wanted to be back. He pushed himself off the ground ignoring his old bones and dusted off. One didn't plan a war while looking sloppy, even if one was wearing 10,000 years old blue advisors robes. 

```

Going out to see the Princess had went surprisingly well. At least until he said something wrong and she looked like she had seen a ghost. They had been having a nice conversation, talking about Lance. How he had been raised by his Dad too, but Lance was careful to keep some details covered. For now, he would tell her everything when they went back down to properly plan. For the moment she was enjoying staring at the stars, Trigel had vanished as soon as she locked eyes with him. When the Princess had asked about his heritage and he told her what he knew was when things went sideways. 

She was practically dragging him through the hall now. They had started walking with linked arms, which she had raised an eyebrow at but didn't comment, but now she was half jogging. Any questions he asked she ignored or told him to wait. He was trying to ignore the worry growing in him, he could tell that his bond mates were alright but what about the other three? Was the Princess bonded to Coran and something happened? 

Once they finally blew into the chamber Coran was standing calmly in the middle of the room. Shiro had also stood, and had a half asleep Keith leaning against him.  _ Not the time for gay thoughts, we will focus on that later.  _ His bond mates hadn’t even twitched, Lance was glad to see, they deserved rest. It had still been dark outside, but starting to go a little grey around the edges. He guessed it was something like 3 A.M. They slid to a stop in the antechamber and the Princess seemed to lose all her drive, shifting on her feet and looking down. Coran raised an eyebrow at him and Lance just shrugged. 

“Lance, repeat what you just told me to Coran.” the Princess said quietly. 

Lance tried to get a good look at her face but she walked to Coran’s side and stayed looking at the ground. 

“Uh, we were talking about my family line. There are no proper records but best we can figure is that an Altean Druid escaped the Galra long enough to either have or hide a kid before they disappeared. That's as far back as we can trace the history at least, and it was right at the beginning of the war. We don't even know their gender, just a name. Emelle.” 

Coran had gone white as his magic. Lance sunk into himself slightly trying to figure out what he had said wrong. He risked a glance to Shiro who looked just as confused. 

“I think you have the name wrong Lance.” Allura said gently.

Coran swayed slightly and Lance was astonished to see silent tears running down his face. 

“I thought his mind felt familiar but I didn't see how it could. I still don't.” the advisor whispered. 

“Think Coran, when the Galra attacked who would they go for first. Even before us. The ones they saw as traitors, those Galra who were kind and caring. You know that if they killed Shina first then Ro would have taken whatever kids she could find and run. No one would bother a Druid in those first days.” Allura sounded like she was about to burst into tears. 

Lance was officially very lost. He had absolutely no idea what they were talking about but he was starting to get a very bad feeling. Especially when Coran made a half choked sound and reached out to grab the Princess’ shoulder. The commotion had woken his bond mates who were just blinking sleepily at the unfolding drama. 

“Not many Druids made it past the first attack of the Galra. My daughter,” Corans voice broke on the word and Lance’s bad feeling grew steadily, “My daughter’s name was Romelle, she was being trained to be a Druid. She and her wife, Shina, were looking to adopt a child when the war started. If Shina was killed, there's not a doubt in me that Romelle would take the child and run.” 

Coran was looking at Lance like he was a light in the darkness. He was busy trying to process the information. It couldn't be a coincidence that he was possibly related to one of the last Alteans in anything more than species. 

“You think… that my family line could have come from your daughter.” his lips felt numb.

Could someone go into shock from a revelation? If it was possible then he could bet he was going into shock. His mind wasn't ready to handle so much stress at one, he almost didn't want to actually know. He felt a warm hand slip into his and grip, it was Pidge looking up at him with warm gold eyes. An arm settled across his shoulders, Hunk. The contact with his bond mates helped clear his head and settle him back into his body. 

“We can't know for sure, it's been too long but it would be one hell of a coincidence if it weren't true.” Allura said gently. 

Coran shook his head once, twice, and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his robe. Lance offered him a weak smile and the advisor gave him a shaky one in return. If it was true… Lance could know his Altean heritage. It could even explain his massive amount of power if he came from not only a Druid but a royal one. He knew that Altean family systems were complex, if they bonded then they were family no questions asked. If Romelle had bonded the child she ran with then the child would be the kid of a royal Druid in more than just name. 

“Wait. Your daughter had a Galra wife?” Keith asked into the silence. 

It was the Princess who answered, maybe giving Coran more time to process, “yes, before the war our people were incredibly close. Zarkon also had an Altean wife, my cousin Honerva.” Alluras face fell as she probably realized her cousin had died too. 

“I grew up playing with other Galra children, it was only Zarkon’s cult that started the war. The common folk were forced into it. Anyone who stood against him was slaughtered, no questions asked.” 

The Princess’ eyes were too heavy for someone so young. He wished he could take that away, make her smile again. He knew it would be in bad taste, but he was opening his mouth to make a joke when Shiro cut him off. He was silently grateful for the interruption. 

“You talk about Altean Druids, was that a job?” His voice was carefully dead and Lance saw Keith press tighter to him. 

There was a story there, one that was most likely not pretty. From the few things people knew about Shiro’s past it suggested he was one of those that had been turned into a vampire thanks to the Galra, not a willing choice. While he was curious, he also wasn't going to ask, he had his own secrets he didn't want to share. If Shiro wanted to talk, Lance would listen, until then he would wait. 

“An Altean Druid was simply an Altean with exceptional magic. Most royals were Druids, after they had finished training to control their magic. Why?” Coran had also noticed Shiro’s behavior. 

The kindly old man act didn't faze Lance. Coran was an advisor, he was used to gathering information and telling testy royals the best moves to make. He had great eyes for catching odd behaviors and would be watching for them. Not the best combination when Lance didn't want certain things reaching the light just yet, or ever. 

“The Galra also have Druids. They are terrible, immensely powerful and willing to do anything their master asks. The head Druid is Hagar, she's the one that corrupted the rest of the Galra and still oversees all their experimentation.” 

Lance had to prevent himself from glancing at Shiro’s scars. The vampire’s voice left no room for questions. He would not be saying anything more on the subject. Still the Princess growled low in her throat. 

“I never heard of a Hagar before the war.” 

Shiro just shrugged and didn’t offer anymore on the subject. Lance would bet the last gummy worm in existence that there was more to that story, but later. For now he needed a few hours with no stress and sudden news to rest and recuperate. His magic levels were still not even at the halfway point and he could definitely go for some more sleep. He’d also like to eat but all they had in the packs were energy bars and he wasn’t that desperate yet. He pushed his fingers through his hair as he thought, Pidge and Hunk had moved back to where they slept and leant against each other, already half asleep. He somehow needed to get the Princess and Coran to sleep, get the vampires back to sleep, and shut his brain off long enough to sleep himself. 

“Princess have you slept yet?” he asked knowing full well she hadn’t. 

Her head shake just confirmed it. 

“Go ahead and catch a few hours of sleep and when we all wake back up we can go over what I have planned and see what you think.” 

The princess was already opening her mouth with narrowed eyes when Lance swooped in for the kill, “I’m not near to full power yet, and I won't be, even after getting a little sleep. I’d like at least one of us to be ready in case anything goes down.” 

A low blow but one he was willing to make. The Princesses mouth closed with a snick and she glared at him. She wouldn't like it but she would get at least a few hours of sleep. He was turning back to the vampires and saw that they were already walking back over to the wall where they had slept earlier. Or at least Keith had slept, he assumed they would be doing shifts rather than trusting their safety. He turned back to Coran who was already smiling at him. 

“I'll sleep too don't worry. You get some rest too boy.” 

Lance gave the older Altean an easy smile and nodded. As soon as his head hit Hunks belly he would be out like a light. He walked back to his bond mates who had already curled into their normal spots. He was sitting and taking off his shoes when Pidge suddenly opened her eyes and looked at him. Or really squinted since she had already ditched her glasses. 

“You know that as soon as you fall asleep you are going to be catching hell.” 

His fingers paused on his laces as he thought about the likelihood. His magic was low but it was enough for a bit of dream walking. He knew that after the major magic released, and the emergence of pure Altean energy, his contacts would be freaking out. At least four knew how to put up a dream call and suck him in. If he slept, then sure his body would rest, but his mind would be active. He groaned loudly and pressed his palms against his eyes. 

“You're right Pidge. Second I pass out I’ve got at least four people trying to pull me in.” 

He pushed himself to his feet and moved over to the wall close to the vampires. Magic use meant his temperature dropping and he wanted his friends to actually sleep not freeze. The vampires were looking at him and Lance knew without raising his eyes the Alteans where too. He kept his eyes on his shoes as he resumed untying the laces. 

“I’m adept at dreamwalking. After everything that went down in the past 12 hours there will be plenty of people trying to get ahold of me. It's a pain but I can also get some reads on Galra movement.” 

He twisted to lay out on his side keeping his back to the wall. It wouldn't be as comfortable as a cuddle pile but he was tired enough to consider sleeping in the middle of the highway. 

“Lance what is your primary magic?” the Princess asked from the other side of the chamber.

The lie was an easy one, and one he told often, “I’m not really sure yet, it still seems to be settling. Pretty sure its mind based though.” he knew his eyes were always his biggest tells when he lied and with them currently closed all he could do was hear the Princess hum out an ok. 

Lance slowed his breathing and focused on his magic. He prefered to sleep with a mask and headphones to close him off from the outer world but he could do without. Especially when he was bone dog tired. He fell into sleep with the grace of a newborn foal. He was right though, within moments of drifting off, he was opening his eyes on a stormy beach. He knew the place, and knew who would be standing next to him when he turned his head.

“Hey Dad.”

His dad just sighed and Lance was sent back to being six and breaking something. There were plenty of sighs his dad communicated through and this was definitely the ‘Lance what the hell did you do?’ sigh. 

“Sooooo… we didn't exactly go on a road trip. Or at least not a very long one.” he said. 

“You somehow found the Alteans. And freed them.” his dad growled. 

Lance squeaked out a yes and turned back to the crashing waves. He was in for it, he could feel the yelling coming. To his surprise his dad just turned and pulled Lance into a crushing hug. 

“Do you realize how dumb that was?” he growled into Lances hair. “You could have been found by Galra. Or the trail could have been a fake! You didn't tell any of us that you were going to do this Lance! What would I have done if it had killed you?” 

Lance felt tears burning his throat and pushed his face into his dad’s chest. This was so much worse than yelling, he had scared one of the few family he still had and couldn't even make it better. 

“I almost did dad.” he whispered. “I almost died twice because I can't keep running. I can't live with the fear of the Galra hanging over my head and making my decisions for me. I didn't know if I would survive either, but I still did it and I’m sorry for scaring you. But I just cant be scared anymore.” Lance felt his dad still against him but now that he had started talking he couldn't stop. “The princess and Coran, they have lost so much. Their entire life has been snatched away from them by the Galra and they cant even hope to get it back. Coran thinks that my family line might have came from his daughter. She was a Druid dad like the Galra have but she was good. I could have found my blood family, I could introduce them to my chosen family. We can all start to heal together.” 

At first it had been his dad crushing Lance to him, but now it was Lance putting the strength into the hug. His dad had a hand buried in the hair at his nape and rubbed at his spine with the other. It had been how they used to sleep after Lance woke up from a nightmare and to this day made him relax. His dad purred low in his chest and Lance looked up, he had a slight smile on his face. 

“You always have cared more for others than yourself.” his dad chided gently, “Bring them here. We can keep you all safe and you can make whatever plans you have to help us beat the Galra. Once all of that is done, then I will ground you for trying to give your old man a heart attack.” 

Lance grinned up at him and his dad smiled back with a fang touched grin of his own. No matter how mad he made his dad he was always forgiven quickly. Even if Lance did still have one last bombshell. 

“Also I’ve got those famous Galra hunters Shiro and Keith…” 

His dad just sighed again and dropped his forehead onto the top of Lances head. 

“Bring them too, I’ll warn everyone. When this is all over we need to have a very long talk about asking for permission not forgiveness.” 

Lance gave his best cheeky grin and finally pulled away from the hug. It was always hard to tell time passing in dreams, but it was starting to get a bit fuzzy around the edges. One of them was waking up and Lance could bet it was himself. 

“Alright I’ll tell the others when we wake up. I purposely left my phone in the car so I’ll message you when I get back to it.” 

His dad sighed and rolled his eyes in the ‘Lance you annoying little shit’ combo but didn't have time to say anything else when the dream blinked to black. The suddenly black surroundings were normal for Lance, he needed to find his way back to his own mindscape without encountering any others and he would wake up. He liked to call it running the gauntlet since it also shoved his memories out at him randomly. With his life, it wasn't pleasant but he had done it before. He was able to ignore the good memories of laughter and joy along with blood memories tinted in pain. A sudden scream that didn't belong to him but he knew as well as his own made him stumble but keep going until he was blinking awake. 

He was the last one awake, normally a sure sign to check his forehead for sharpie marks. Thankfully being in the middle of the woods prevented Pidge from being her full gremlin self. Hunk tossed him an energy bar which he caught with a crinkled nose and then tossed a bottle filled with black liquid. Lance started actually drooling at the smell. Only a true best friend bottled coffee for you instead of letting you suffer. It was cold but he still unscrewed the top and chugged it easily. Once he was done he met the horrified eyes of the vampires and curious eyes of the Alteans. 

“You just chugged pure black coffee before you had even been awake for thirty seconds. I'm not quite sure if you're a god or a demon.” Keith said. 

Lance just smiled at him and began unwrapping his energy bar. 

“I may have a  _ slight  _ caffeine addiction. Hunk just enables me because I’m worse without it.” 

He stuck the corner of the bar in his mouth and couldn't help the face he made. He really wasn't a picky eater but the damn these things were nasty. 

“Oh ya it started sophomore year! We had this terrible geometry teacher who hated Lance and would cut points from him on purpose. It was finals season and Lance stayed awake for five solid days frantically studying. He ended up making a 97 on the test, puked on Iverson’s desk and passed out for 36 straight hours.” Pidge told the story fondly while Hunk just shook his head. 

The vampires looked at him in horror again and he just shrugged. It had been the hardest test he had ever taken but seeing Iverson’s face when Lance actually made the highest grade was amazing. He had even scored better than Pidge and Hunk. One of his proudest moments of his high school career. He shoved the rest of the energy bar in his throat and tried to pretend it was a honey butter chicken biscuit without success. The quicker they got a move on the quicker he could have decent food. 

“So I did my dream work last night and cleared a place for us to go while we make our proper plans. It’s a small base in deep east Texas where the most dangerous things are the local hillbillies.” the others nodded along but he could see the Alteans confusion. Someone would explain later. “It’s where I grew up and trained to get to the point I’m at now so I know the area and the people, guarantee that its totally safe.” 

Lance trailed off and hoped for the best once he had the rest to say. “My dad is the current leader of the base. His name is Thace and I can promise that he will help us with our goal.” 

Lance paused when Keith abruptly choked on his own tongue and boggled at Lance like he had grown a second head.

“Your dad is Thace?  _ The  _ Thace?!” 

Lance winced all the way to Kerberos, if his dad knew people still talked about him then he would be way to smug about it. 

“How do you know Lance’s father?” Coran asked.

Keith positively lit up and started talking more than Lance had seen the whole trip, he even used his hands. Normally, would have been cute, now Lance wished he had some duct tape. 

“Thace is a badass! He once infiltrated the Galra nearly to the top and relayed their information to the freedom fighters before he got caught! He has one of the highest known Galra hit numbers and the bounty they have out on him is only lower than a few rebel leaders and Alteans. I knew he dropped off the grid a few years ago but…” Keith trailed off and looked at Lance with wide eyes when he finally caught up to the problem. 

Lance took a deep breath and hoped the next little bit went well. “Dad is an officer of a rebel group known as The Blade of Mamora. He works close to Galran forces in order to bring them down from the inside.” 

The others digested the information while Lance sat there. He knew what question was coming and he would have to handle it very carefully. Pidge and Hunk knew, the vampires had realized and he could see the thought crossing the Alteans face. The Princess narrowed her eyes as she came to the only logical conclusion. 

“How did he Manage to get close to the Galra.” 

_ Well here goes nothing I guess,  _ “Dad is also… a Galra.” 

It was quiet except for the low growl Lance was fairly sure came from Coran though his face didn't show it. He didn't do well in silence, he instantly wanted to fill it with chatter and bad jokes to pull attention off him. 

“What.” the Princess didn't even ask it, she ordered. 

“When I was about four I showed my heritage for the first timeThace found me two days later scared out of my mind and sick from hunger and thirst. He thought I was just a lost human child and planned on returning me to my parentsHe took me in, raised me, trained me to protect myself. I don't doubt for a minute that he would give anything to protect me.”

The Alteans still looked furious. Like the mere thought of a Galra taking care of one of their own was impossible. It made Lance angry. 

“I have cried in Thace’s lap, slept in his bed, and trusted him since I was a child. He bandaged my scraped knees while barely breathing because I wouldn't let anyone else touch me. Every single person in that base has seen me bleed more than once and a few of them have even caused it. If I didn't think that it was perfectly safe and that we could hide there I would not have suggested it!” 

He had pushed himself to his feet and gestured while he ranted ignoring the angry blue sparks hopping off his skin. He needed to get them to understand that while the Galra had done so much wrong there were some good. That their hatred had to be aimed at the right people. 

The Princess surged to her feet and snarled into his face he bared his teeth right back as tiny bolts of pink lightning skittered across her skin. 

“The Galra demolished our people! Zarkon murdered my Father himself and you want me to trust more Galra?!” 

“Yeah Princess that fucking sucks! But Thace is not Zarkon. If he had any ties to the Galra he would have carried me straight to them when he found me, or taken me directly to Zarkon when I told him that I knew where you were and could free you!” 

That last part was a lie, he definitely hadn’t told Thace that he had found the Alteans but it made the Princess rear back out of his personal space. It stopped the force of her magic pushing against him begging him to bow his neck. 

“Lance,” Coran broke in gently, “you have to understand where we are coming from. We just lost  _ everything  _ due to the Galra.” 

All the fight flew from Lance’s sails. Maybe he had been pushing too hard, too fast, but he had to. 

“Sometimes when I’m in the dreamscape I stumble across Galra. I usually avoid them but one was a trap. I got pulled into a Druids mind and the things I saw… I know what I’m asking but I swear on my magic you will not last in the world. The base is the only safe place to go.” 

Lance didn't miss how hard Shiro had flinched. Nobody had. He was sorry for even mentioning the Druids but what he had seen still haunted him years later. He hadn’t left his room for a week and the base for a whole month when it had happened, pure terror stopping him. 

“Give us a moment, please.” Coran said kindly. 

He took the Princess by her elbow and walked them down the hall past Lances hearing. It hadn’t gone well at all, but it was the best he had. He sighed aloud and pressed his finger tips against the Altean marking that had rose on his cheeks. He had to be strong, he could not afford to be weak and afraid. If he wanted to live until he was 20 he had to put aside the kind boy his father had raised and step into the mind of a soldier. Whether he wanted to or not. 

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Hi Ro! 

Once the Alteans left, Lance finally let himself breath. How had it only been a single day since he and his friends set out to find the Alteans? 24 hours had just lead to more stress than he felt in any given month. He had lost control over his instincts and magic more times than he had in the past year, not even mentioning Trigel getting a glimpse into his secrets. He had picked up two of his heroes and managed to embarrass himself in front of them. He desperately wanted more sleep and maybe a beer before he had to be a real person any longer. 

The best he had was a bottle of water that wasn't even cold hanging out in his pack. Still all he had had to drink so far was black coffee, he would drink pond water at the moment. Lance closed his eyes and focused on his magic, when he had been young one of the other Blades had taught him the best way to control his magic or temper. Three deep breaths in and on the fourth inhale he pulled his magic back to settle within him. He reopened his eyes and took stock of his surroundings. The vampires had drifted to the side and stared at Lance, maybe waiting to see if he would be losing his shit again. Hunk and Pidge were staring after the Alteans with matching hard looks, they were at the end of their patience, Lance could only hope they would behave for a little while longer. 

For the moment, the worst danger was themselves. Lance could not risk lashing out at the Princess and losing her support, but he refused to bow his head also. If he really was royal then there was no need to submit, even if he wasn't, he was simply too powerful to let the Princess boss him around. Or maybe he was just too stubborn. But his attitude and pure grit had got him out of more than one problem. If he could make a half decent plan to keep them all together for a while longer and make it to the base without ripping each other’s heads off they would be golden. 

Movement had his eyes snapping over, but it was just Shiro shrugging off the vest Lance had bled on. He definitely did not take the moment to appreciate the big vampire’s shoulders and chest. If Pidge had caught the little look and was smirking at him, he would deny any knowledge. He rolled his eyes at the small girl and flicked her in the ear as he moved to his pack. Pidge hissed and slid behind Hunk to glare around his elbow, Hunk just sighed and shook his head. Lance flashed his friends a grin and proceeded to roll his body and crack his spine all the way up to his neck. They hated it, and cringed away. 

It made Lance crack up loudly and pop his neck properly. Pidge could pop her knuckles with the best of them but anything further and she was done. Hunk proudly proclaimed that even his bones were squishy and that's why they never popped. On any other person Lance would have called bullshit but Hunk was the human equivalent of a Care Bear. Lance bent himself in half to pick up his bag and touched his toes while he was already down. Before he had started proper training he had done gymnastics, and still continued with yoga. He found it handy to be flexible when one was prone to getting oneself into trouble. 

He rolled himself back up his legs and groaned when his hips popped one after the other. His body was already being held together by duct tape and zip ties, before he had even slept on a stone ground. His cushy bed at the Base would be calling his name the minute he stepped into the building. He might even get lucky and avoid any trouble long enough to slip away and rest. With his track record, he doubted it though. His already sore bones groaned at the thought of the training he would be getting after pulling the stunt he just had. 

“If you frown any harder you’ll get wrinkles.” Keith said from behind him. 

Lance yelped, tried to whirl around, and flinched all at once. The end result was him tripping over his pack and landing on his ass. Keith managed to be serious for about half a moment before he gave in and bent over with laughter. The sounds of the other three joining in reached his ears and Lance just groaned and let himself fall fully backwards. Now his tailbone hurt along with everything else, great. 

“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you.” at least Keith sounded slightly sorry around his laughter. 

Lance opened his eyes and saw the Keith was offering him a hand up. Even if the vampire had been the one that made Lance fall he wouldn't turn down the help up. Lance grabbed his hand and firmly ignored the blue sparks that decided to dance across the vampires skin. His magic had no idea what it was doing. Only explanation. Even when the sparks decided to play in his dark hair. 

Lance let himself get lifted up, though scrawny and shorter than Lance, Keith was surprisingly strong. Strong enough to lift all of gangly Lance at least, made one think about how strong Shiro would be.  _ I wonder if Shiro would be stronger than Hunk.  _ Lance banished the thought from his head, now was not the time. He needed to focus, he could hear footsteps coming. Lance dropped Keith’s hand, he hadn't noticed he had kept ahold of it for a bit too long. He slid the hard mask back over his face and locked his spine as he shifted to watch the door. 

Coran walked in first and Lance could see his quick glance around the chamber before he moved aside to let the Princess procede. Judging, gathering information, ever the Advisor gathering information for his ruler. Lance couldn't say much though, since he did the same. Glancing over the Alteans he could see the stiffness in their shoulders and the anger in the Princess’ gait. It told him what he needed to know even before the Princess opened her mouth. 

“We will come to your Base. Only on your word, do not disappoint me.” Her voice was harder than granite. 

Lance could easily see the Queen she would have became. She would have been a great one, so long as she had Coran to soften her sharp edges. Lance could guess it had been the advisor that convinced the Princess, not his own words. If anything him losing his composure would have hurt his chances. He would have to do better, he could not keep making mistakes. Lance nodded. He would not bow before the Princess, but he could show his accept her as a leader. 

“The Base is safe, we can plan our next moves there and utilize the Blade.” 

Lance did not miss her lip curl and the thought of being around more Galra but he would put off that fight for later. For now he could accept his wins and move on. Lance held out his hand for the Princess to carefully grab. She did it the old way, by grabbing his forearm. He let his dark blue Altean markings to surface causing the Princesses own pink ones to glow. He gave her a wild smile and pulled his magic right to the surface for her to sense. The Princess did the same and gave him a matching grin showing her sharp teeth. 

“We will not hide much longer sister. We will emerge stronger and free.” a promise to her, sealed with their twining magics. 

Allura pulled her arm away taking some of his blue sparks with her, he had pink lightning skittering up his arm. They tickled for a minute before dissipating as Lance turned back to the others. Pidge and Hunk were grinning, the vampires had small cautious smiles. They knew the problem with bringing unknown vampires into others territories, but it would be fine. Lance had Thace’s explicit permission to bring them, if anyone had problems they could stuff it. 

“I would be an idiot to lose two of the best Galra hunters around now. Thace has given permission for both of you to come along.” 

Keith’s smile grew into more of a fang bearing grin. Lance matched it not resisting the urge to bounce on his toes. After spending most of his life terrified he was finally doing something about it. He was finally giving himself a future. Giving everyone on the planet a future. 

“Let’s go show the Galra why they never should have started this war.” he purred. 

They quickly grabbed their things, only the trio had much to carry. The Princess had used her magic to open a hidden shelf and pulled out a metallic looking whip. Her magic had glowed across its surface clearing any dust and rust as she quickly looped it around her waist as a belt. Lance raised an eyebrow and could hear Pidge snort, in her white dress the Princess didn’t look like the whip type. The Princess heard and stuck her chin out slightly. 

“My father also thought a princess should not openly carry a weapon. I say that if you make it obvious that you carry a weapon and can use it people won't try to test you.” 

Pidge snorted again and sidled closer to the Princess than she had in the whole time. 

“Oh don't worry Princess. I like it, more women should carry weapons. We just got to get you out of that dress, totally out of style.” 

Lance cast his eyes skyward and prayed for luck. Pidge was already bad enough without a warrior princess giving her advice. 

“Do you carry a weapon?” the Princess asked Pidge. 

The girl shook her head and Lance saw green mist blow around her. He could bet that her eyes had taken on the green tint that normally meant an ass kicking. 

“Trust me I don't need one.” 

Lance was going to die. This combination of people was officially going to kill him. The Princess looked way too interested in Pidge’s shenanigans and he knew that Pidge would gladly take a pupil. Hunk’s hand dropped on Lance’s shoulder in sympathy. While Pidge messed with Hunk, she was much nicer to him, said he was too sweet to bully. Lance was fair game though. He was officially royally screwed. 

“What about you Lance?” the Princess directed back to him. “Does your life make you carry a weapon or are you a runner.” 

Lances hackles rose as Pidge dropped back slightly. If the Princess thought she was slick she was in for a surprise. He knew what she was really asking, ‘do you protect yourself or do you run like a coward’ she was as obvious as a neon sign at midnight. 

“I always choose run first, I cannot get cornered and overwhelmed. If running doesn't work I always carry.”

_ Even without your knife you could protect yourself and you know it.  _ Lance banished the whisper from his mind and pictured the thought sinking to the bottom of the ocean. He refused to even entertain the idea and what it would cost. When the Princess turned, trusting Coran to keep her from running into any walls, Lance pulled his knife from its sheath at the small of his back. He always had it when he left the Base, he even slept with it. The blade was about six inches and finely honed silver, a metal that affected most species but mostly Galra and Vampires. Silver also affected Alteans like him but black leather wound around the grip kept him from touching the metal. Keith whistled as he moved up to inspect the knife, though he stayed far from it. 

“That is a mean ass knife.” he complimented, “what does that say on the blade?” 

Etched along the blades spines was a phrase in Altean. Lance knew it by heart and had often traced the words under careful fingers. He passed the blade up to the Princess and let her handle it like it was an egg shell. 

“Roar with the pride of Lions,” she choked out “My Father used to say it to me every night. Its an old saying to bring strength.” 

Lance nodded as she handed the blade back. Though he rarely used the knife he trusted it strength. And his own. The rest of the walk was silent, each person lost to their own thoughts. When they finally left the temple the Princess turned back one last time. After a moment she waved her hand and the whole place started rumbling. After a few moments it imploded with a loud bang. The Princess took a moment to swipe her eyes before she answered the obvious question. 

“We can't risk the Galra getting their hands on Altean tech like the stasis pods. It is safer to bury them and never come back.” 

Lance knew it probably hurt, their civilization gone and the Princess had to destroy one of the last remainders. She was right though, if the Galra could get their hands on the information they would be even stronger. He was taking a breath to offer support when the difference of the forest finally caught up to his brain. Yesterday he had been able to tell he was in Trigel’s territory, the very air carried her presence. Now there was nothing, he was just standing in some random woods. Pidge had picked up on it too, he could see faint green trendails connecting her to the ground. 

“Princess, what happened to the Dryad?” Pidge’s voice had gone whisper soft in a way that drew Lance to her side to wrap an arm around the girl. 

“Trigel had long outlived her lifespan. She faded into her home tree, I hope that by the next time she emerges she can wander the world free of the Galra.” the Princess said sadly.

Pidge nodded but Lance could see the sadness in the cant of her eyebrows. He squeezed her again then moved to the side to let Hunk grab her hand. 

“I-I know that it's not very smart for us to be in the open but I would really like to visit Trigel’s tree. Plus its one of few places where Balmeran Crystals can be summoned.” it was the first time Lance had heard the Princess stutter. 

And when she was asking to go to what was essentially her friends grave and birthplace. What kind of cold hearted asshole would Lance have been to even think about saying no? He nodded at the Princess and ignored the twinge he felt at her grateful look. They set off at a quick pace, at least it was slower than the pace he had set getting there. He was still incredibly sore, walking was helping to loosen him up but it hurt. He was seriously considering asking Hunk for a piggy back ride if the Princess wasn't there. 

It was only a short walk to Trigel’s tree, once they got there Lance forgot all about his soreness. Her tree was purely massive. At his best guess it was easily a hundred feet across, and at least triple in height. It looked like multiple trees twined around each other. This close Lance could once again feel her aura, though it was barely a trace. Pidge stubbornly marching forward pulled him from his amazement, it was in bad taste to get to close to a Dryad’s tree even if the being wasn't around. 

Pidge placed her palms flat against the tree trunk and Lance was suddenly reminded of himself doing the same to the barrier only hours earlier. He wondered if his friends felt the same fear in their bellies as the Princess snarled viciously. Lance’s own warning growl echoed the Princess but he didn't bother turning as Pidge’s aura lit up around her. Pidge’s magic always reminded him of screen glitches, jerky and hard to see through in brilliant shades of green. Lance’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as Pidge started pushing her magic into Trigel’s tree. He understood now, he just never expected it. Pidge was performing her own magical transfer, better to another nature aligned being than it would ever be for something else. 

Once Pidge pushed the last of her energy into Trigel’s tree and stumbled away, Lance finally let his breath whoosh out. Trigel had been weak when she faded, and it might have taken her a decade before she reemerged, but Pidge had shaved maybe two years off. Once again Lance got a good shock when a branch reached towards Pidge with a single bright green flower growing from it. With trembling finger Pidge plucked the flower and cradled it like it was spun glass. The branch receded and Lance could swear the forest released a sigh. 

The Princess was giving Pidge a whole ‘nother look now. Like she was reevaluating assumptions that she had made within moments of knowing the girl. Tiny things like that made Lance so incredibly proud, he knew that his bond mates were absolutely amazing. The whole world needed to know it too, even if it was just by him telling everyone he met. Even though they each had their own flaws, Lance would gladly stand behind them. Or in front of them if the situation came to that. He would gladly face down Zarkon himself if the bastard made one of his bond mates cry. 

The Princess finally looked away form Pidge and knelt before the great tree. Lance watched as her crackling pink aura bloomed around her and leapt to the ground in long arcs. Slowly a small section of soil began vibrating before what looked to be three small pebbles rose to the surface. The Princess let her aura fade and grabbed the stones before rising to her feet. Lance noted that even after kneeling in the dirt her white dress didn't have a single stain. She turned back to them and let her magic flicker around the stones to clear the dirt off them before holding them out. 

“They look like…. Little quartz crystals.” Lance didn't know what he had expected but it wasnt that. “I actually don't know what these are.” he admitted.

The Princess smiled and turned to hand one to Coran. As soon as it touched the advisors hands it lit up a brilliant white that overwhelmed his eyes and made Lance look away. Once the glow faded away Coran pushed back his sleeve to show that the stone had affixed itself to a bracelet Coran wore. Lances eyebrows rose to his hairline, he definitely wasn't expecting that. The Princess brought another stone to her lips and blew gently on it. Her magic sprung to life in her hands but this time Lance had been expecting it and looked away in time. Once the glow faded the Princess was left holding a golden circlet with the stone set into the center. 

“Balmeran Crystals are special, they are not just pretty stones. The crystals cover your aura, as long as you don't summon your magic you will appear human to Galra.” 

Now Lance got it, it was the same concept as his silver choker. It probably didn't have the nasty side effect either, he still had a red ring around his throat from silver burning. Plus if he could still reach his magic with it then that could be a literal life saver. He reached out his hand and the Princess dropped the small stone in his hand. The moment it touched his palm he felt the sharp jerk on his magic. He had been letting his magic mostly run free while they had been there, but the stone flung it into a box and slid on a padlock. His hands filled with his dark blue smoke and lighter blue sparks as the crystal worked through his system. Once it cleared, Lance was left holding the crystal with a new black cord strung through a small hole in the top. 

The thing had transformed into a necklace for him. Not as cool as a circlet, or subtle as Coran’s bracelet but Lance did like necklaces. He wore one nearly all the time before he started wearing the choker. Thace had gotten it for him and hung a small Altean rune that said family from it. When he got back to the Base he would be putting the charm onto the new necklace. He pulled the necklace over his head and felt his features settle back into human. The Alteans also looked more human, though not completely, their ears had shortened to nice elf ears and their facial markings had stopped glowing and sat on their skin like tattoos.

“If you would like to use your magic you can, but you will reveal yourself to anyone around you.” the Princess said before doing just that, it set her back to her natural appearance before she let her magic fade. 

“With these, and the Base’s own defenses we will be completely invisible to the Galra. We can train and prepare in peace.” 

Lance’s mind was spinning with all the new possibilities. Now they weren't even restricted to the Base, they could go out if they wished. It opened up all kinds of new opportunities to get close to the Galra or just to go out for a milkshake. Thace would be thrilled, Lance knew his dad was a constant worrier and that he hated the choker for how it affected Lance. 

“There is nothing else I need. Lance, if you would lead the way.” The Princess said. 

Lance nodded along but his mind was still lost to planning. He started the walk to the van, his life had suddenly got a lot bigger. 

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The five mile hike through the newly vacated forest was passed mostly in silence. The few stilted attempts at communication barely drew in the three Alteans, each lost to their own thoughts. With the new crystals Lance would not have to worry about silver, or the blow back that came along with it. If the moment ever came up where he was cornered even with the protection he would still be able to use his magic. He didn't even have to rely on someone to hold the key in order for him to overcome the temptation. 

If he had been wearing the silver choker then he would already be feeling the effects of silver sickness. Plus the burns around the base of his throat getting the chance to breathe and heal was worth the new necklace rubbing them and hurting. The necklace was inconspicuous, he could easily say it was just a normal necklace if anyone happened to ask. He wouldn't have to worry about people seeing silver choker and freaking out. He could go to Walmart without worrying about being killed in the yarn isle. 

“Hey Lance want me to drive back to the Base?” Hunks question snapped Lance out of his own thoughts. 

Lance ran through the seating, it was going to be a tight squeeze even in his van. Plus he was tired enough that driving wasn't one of his better ideas. 

“Ya good idea I’m beat. Hunk and Shiro up front, Coran Pidge and Keith in middle, Me and Princess Allura in the back.” 

It was the safest bet, put Coran in the middle where he could observe and speak, the Princess with him and not a vampire. If he guessed right Keith would sit behind Shiro and Coran behind Hunk with Pidge in the middle. Pidge would pester Coran with questions keeping him talking and helping the vampires relax too. The Princess would be most relaxed with a barrier between her and the vampires and he hoped happy to have him close. He had caught the looks she would send every time he drifted close to a vampire to talk or just walk. Lance understood why she would be skittish, didn't make it any easier to deal with. 

They all needed time, the Alteans to cope and the vampires to adjust. Lance wondered if the vampires would actually stay. They did seemed determined to take the Galra down but at the same time they seemed more like lone wolves. Bringing them to the Base would be an experience for everyone. Lance kinda felt like he was playing operation but instead of a shock he would be setting off a bomb. He was shoving some very distinct and opposing opinions into a car for a very long trip. They started climbing into the van, he was pleased to see that he had been right about seat choices though. 

“Alright Hunk lets get on our way. First food place we stop at before I eat Pidge.” Lance said once everyone was settled in. 

The whole car nodded though Pidge chucked one of her leftover jelly beans at his head. He caught it in his mouth and chewed while giving Pidge his best angelic smile. She just rolled her eyes and turned back into her seat with a huff. The car started its forward motion and almost immediately Lance felt his eyes getting heavy. One day he would stop being a toddler that fell asleep ten minutes into car rides but today was not that day. 

“Just wake me up when we get food, im taking a nap” He mumbled and leaned against the window. 


End file.
